


WWE Marvels: San Francisco

by RelentlassHuggerSquad



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Professional Wrestling, WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Adam Cole as Boom, Alexa Bliss as Ms.Bliss, Angst, Becky Lynch as Alcatraz, Connected Universe, Cross Over, Gen, Kind of dark, Liv Morgan as Daddy, Marvel Universe, Multi, Natalya as Blizzard, Nikki Cross as Circe, Pete Dunne as Bonemaster, Ruby Riott as Riott, Sarah Logan as Viking, Super heroes and villains, Tags to be added, Toni Storm as Storm Zero, knock-off west coast avengers, marvel AU, super hero AU, super powers, trigger warning suicide mentions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:42:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 27,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21801601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RelentlassHuggerSquad/pseuds/RelentlassHuggerSquad
Summary: WWE/Marvel cross over ficIn the era of superheroes and villains, San Francisco had remained largely untouched. That was until a decade prior when the heroine Alcatraz came to town. With the arrival of a strong hero, it brought equally strong villains to the bay area town to challenge for control.  The city relied on its hero Alcatraz to keep the peace, but after a tragic accident, new heroes such as Storm Zero and Viking must step in to fill the power vacuum left behind. Sadistic villains like Blizzard, Ms. Bliss, and Circe among others aren't going to give their reigns of terror over that easily.Buckle up and enjoy the trolly ride folks. Featuring cameos by different Marvel characters, and WWE wrestlers as heroes and villainsOn permanent hiatus as of 4/8/20
Relationships: Adam Cole & Pete Dunne, Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross, Sarah Bridges | Crazy Mary Dobson/Liv Morgan/Ruby Riot | Heidi Lovelace, Toni Storm & Becky Lynch
Comments: 35
Kudos: 13





	1. Issue #1 - A hero in the zoo

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ahunter8056](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ahunter8056/gifts).



San Francisco was not a town for the weak, the city more often than not tipped towards chaos and anarchy. The city was foggy, cold, cramped and depending on a person's location smelled disgusting and dirty. Ruby Riott wasn’t sure how she ended up being one of the protectors of the bay area city. Maybe she had stood up because she was tired of seeing it destroyed by low life scum who had nothing better to do. San Francisco was an ugly place, but it was her home and she felt obligated to protect it. 

The city was big enough that it had a tendency to attract the wrong sort of individuals, people who preyed on the tourists that would come to check out the sights. Ruby didn’t like the looks of the street thugs that had tried to set up strongholds in her city. Didn’t like that different South American cartels were trying to prey on the youth and drag them into wars. There were eight hundred thousand people in Ruby’s city, and it rubbed her the wrong way when outsiders tried to conquer and control it. More villains had been coming to town since Alcatraz's accident almost a year prior.

If Ruby had her way, she would have kept herself out of trouble and the limelight. Stopping a mugging was one thing, actually being a hero was another. Ruby preferred not to have people relying on her, she didn’t like being reliant on others either. There were real qualified heroes that called the city home like Alcatraz, Storm Zero or Viking, they were built to be on the front pages of the chronicle. Ruby would have never used her own powers in public if it hadn’t been for Sarah needing help. 

Ruby who worked at San Francisco’s Wild Animal Sanctuary and Rehabilitation Park, had been doing her daily job as a veterinarian. Her day had started out pretty routinely, nothing was too out of the ordinary. Ruby was tending to the different injured animals when Sarah Logan in her Viking costume had been thrown into the park.

Everybody in the bay city knew about Viking, the hero with the runes scribbled up and down her arms and exposed skin. Viking was best known for catching thugs in dark alleys and beating them to a bloody pulp. Ruby had gathered that due to where most of the muggings were stopped, Viking was based out of the downtown metro down near the piers.

Landing in the park, a few feet away from Viking was one of the criminal bosses in San Francisco, Blizzard. Blizzard’s expression was one of boredom and irritation as if having to fight against Viking was beneath her. Holding up a hand, an ice shell in the shape of a dagger formed around Blizzard’s fingertips. Blizzard used her other hand to shoot a blast of ice freezing Viking's bow and arrows to the cement, leaving the hero without a weapon.

“If you would have minded your own business, we wouldn’t be in this mess. You’ve interrupted my operations one too many times Viking.” Blizzard said, edging closer to the hero who hadn’t moved. Blizzard’s white cloak made her skin appear even paler, the only splash of color Blizzard had was the pink streaks of her hair. "You should have left the hero work to Storm Zero or Alcatraz, you're out of your depth kid."

Ruby was watching the interaction, an internal war waging inside her head on whether or not she should intervene. Ruby rubbed at the red talisman she wore on her neck, as she weighed her options Making an enemy of Blizzard was a bad idea, Blizzard came from a criminal family in Calgary. If you mess with one of the family members, you messed with them all. Outing herself as having powers and putting herself on Blizzard's radar wasn't the best idea for somebody trying to keep their head down. Still, there was a piece of Ruby that wasn’t going to allow a hero like Viking to be killed in front of her, not when the good guys were so few. 

Before Ruby could react, Viking jolted forward and grabbed Blizzard’s arm, trying to land some body shots. Ruby admired the fighting spirit, but she wasn’t sure if the hero could hold her own against Blizzard, even with her enhanced durability. Viking was strong, but Blizzard was a lot stronger and could make ice weapons.

Blizzard confirmed Ruby's fear when she jabbed an ice dagger into Viking’s shoulder. The hero cried out in pain, trying to pull the dagger out. “The next one goes through your eye,” Blizzard warned, the ice already beginning to crystalize around her hand again. 

Ruby had seen enough, she took a slow breath tapping into her own powers, the talisman glowing a deeper shade of red against her skin. She had made a vow to never use her powers in public, but she considered this an emergency. Ruby focused on the memory of the largest animal she had seen recently. It took a few seconds, but Ruby’s body began to twist and morph until a half-grown rhino stood in her place. 

The Rhino-Ruby lowered her head and charged straight for Blizzard. She slammed forcefully into Blizzard, sending the villain a few feet away. Angered by the attack Blizzard huffed and got ready to throw an ice dagger at Ruby, but then seemed to think better of it as sirens wailed in the distance. 

“This isn’t over, I will make the both of you pay,” Blizzard warned, before using her powers to lift herself up in the air with a gust of cold icy wind. 

Ruby waited until Blizzard was gone before she transformed back into her human appearance. She staggered forward a bit, transforming into bigger animals took a lot out of her and required more energy to maintain the form.

Viking by this point had gotten to her feet. Her shoulder was still bleeding heavily, staining her superhero outfit. She glanced around the animal park in shock, trying to figure out how to get out of there before the police swarmed the park.

Groaning quietly, Ruby pointed in the direction of a tan building. “We use that building for minor animal surgeries. Go in there and patch yourself up, I’ll send the police away.” 

“Why are you helping me?” Viking asked, before shaking her head, thinking better of it. “It doesn’t matter, thanks.” Viking quickly jogged in the direction of the building. 

Ruby wasn’t feeling so hot, normally she had more of a warning before she had to use her powers. She took a moment to calm herself, practicing what she was going to say to the police officers. When the police did finally enter the park, she explained that Blizzard and Viking had been fighting, but that the heroic Viking had scared the wintery witch away. The police didn’t look entirely convinced, but they left almost as quickly as they had arrived. They had bigger threats to catch in the city like Bonemaster and Circe.

Once she was sure they were gone, Ruby walked over to the building. Walking inside she saw Viking attempting to unsuccessfully stitch up the stab wound. Ruby knocked the hero’s hands away and began to stitch her up, herself. 

“So you can turn into animals?” Viking asked, staring down at Ruby. 

Ruby gritted her teeth, she didn’t want to be having this conversation. “Cut the small talk. I saved your life, so now you owe me a favor. My favor is that you keep your mouth shut about what you saw.” Ruby growled, trying to sanitize the hero's wound.

“I wasn’t going to tell anybody, I just think I would have known about somebody with your powers. There are not that many heroes in this town. Really it’s only me and Storm Zero since Alcatraz got hurt. Storm Zero doesn’t like me.” Viking was looking over Ruby, trying not to flinch as Ruby stitched up the wound. 

“I wonder why she doesn’t like you.” Ruby deadpanned, before frowning. “Besides, who said I’m a hero? Also please quit moving, your going to have an ugly scar if you keep it up.” 

Viking snorted softly. “If you weren’t a hero, you wouldn’t have saved me. You could have let Blizzard kill me.” She winced again as Ruby kept working. "You don't have very good bedside manners."

Ruby’s eyes narrowed and she shook her head. “I would have had to fill out paperwork for letting one of this city’s best heroes die in my park. I can’t be bothered with the paperwork. Also, are you really complaining right now, Viking? I work on animals, not people.” Ruby pointed out, finding the hero to be irritating.

“You can call me Sarah by the way, it’s only fair since I know your name,” Sarah said, using her good arm to push back her hood and take off her mask. “Ruby, that’s a pretty name,” Sarah said in reference to the name tag pinned to Ruby’s shirt.

“Can you not do that, please? I don’t want to be mixed up in this, I am only patching you up so you don’t bleed or whatever.” Ruby really didn’t want to be involved in the world that Viking was a part of. Ruby wasn’t a villain, but she didn’t see herself as a hero either. She was happy just keeping to herself. 

“Well aren’t you a real riot, you’re kind of no fun,” Sarah muttered, before looking away. “Can you only turn into a rhino, how do your powers work? What's the talisman for?” Sarah questioned, reaching a hand out to touch it. 

Ruby was growing frustrated with Viking. She smacked Sarah's hand away, wondering why she had been stupid enough to help her in the first place. “Look Viking...Sarah, whatever your name is, I helped you. I don't have time for a game of twenty-billion questions. You’re all patched up now, so can you please leave before you get me in trouble. I would really like to keep my job.” Ruby said, moving away from the hero so she could start cleaning up the mess. 

Sarah watched Ruby for a moment and then turned to go for the door. “This city needs people willing to do what is right. I’m doing the best I can, but you have a gift…If you change your mind I am sure you can find me.” 

Ruby watched the hero go and just shook her head. She loved San Francisco, the city was her home, but she didn’t think she was a hero or what the city needed. The fact that she has saved Viking did give her pause, maybe she could put her powers to good use. With heroes like Storm Zero and Viking, not to mention the Avengers somewhere out in the world, Ruby didn't think there was much need for her. It was better to leave it to the professionals and stick to saving animals. It was what she was good at anyways.

The rest of Ruby’s day was spent working with the various animals and checking their enclosures for any damage. Her boss and lead veterinarian of the San Francisco Wild Animal Sanctuary and Rehabilitation Park, Natalya was being more of a jerk than normal. Normally Ruby would just ignore her, but that didn’t seem possible since Nattie kept getting in her face. Ruby was just wanting to go home, she wanted to get away from it all. 

However, Ruby’s evening was far from peaceful because when she made it to her apartment, the door was already unlocked. Being the sort of person who was meticulous about her stuff, Ruby knew she hadn’t been the one to leave it open. She thought about calling the police, but there was no telling when they'd actually show up, or if they'd show up at all. After the day she had, Ruby wasn't about to let her place be ransacked. 

She kicked the door open and glanced around, trying to see if she could spot anything suspicious going on. The sight that greeted her was a confusing one, a blonde girl was laid out on her table, clearly unconscious. Ruby approached the girl, only for the blonde to jolt upright. The blonde began thrashing and vibrating in place so hard, it was making the table shake. 

"Who the heck are you?" Ruby asked, wondering why there was a strange girl in her tiny apartment. "Are you high?" It wouldn't have been the first person on drugs that Ruby had witnessed, though it would make for the first time that one had broken into her apartment. 

The blonde gave Ruby a look that chilled the dark-haired girl to the bone, she looked downright terrified and couldn't stop shaking or vibrating. 

"Okay you need some help, I'll call the cops," Ruby said slowly back up and not taking her eyes off of the stranger in case the girl decided to attack her. 

"No, don't do that!" Sarah walked out of Ruby's bathroom, a wet washcloth in her hands. "I don't know what's wrong with Liv, she's my neighbor. I didn't know where else to bring her."

Ruby glanced from Sarah to Liv and then back again. "First off, how do you know where I live, why did you break in and finally why did you bring her here? She needs a doctor or something." 

Liv was still thrashing and shaking, but when her eyes landed on Sarah, she managed to hold still. "Sarah? I don't feel so good" 

Sarah nodded, ignoring Ruby's questions for now in favor of pressing the cool cloth to Liv's skin. "I'm right here Liv, you're okay." Sarah shifted her attention to Ruby, fear was starting to enter her voice, "She's burning up. I found her in the stairwell outside my apartment, she was seizing and I didn't know what to do." 

"You should have called an ambulance," Ruby grumbled, clearly frustrated. "You still should call an ambulance. We don't know what she took. Hey, tell me what you took." Ruby said stepping forward and lightly slapping Liv's face, jerking her hand back when she was shocked. 

Liv's eyes flashed to Ruby's again. "I took some meds I got from a lady on a street corner. She said it'd make the pain stop, my head has been hurting for days." Liv began trying to explain what happened. "I just wanted it all to end. The pain was too much so I took them all, why didn't it stop?"

The more that Ruby stared at her, the more she thought she could see electricity almost rippling off the girl's skin. If Liv was to be believed, the amount of medicine she had taken should have killed her. 

"Is... Is she like us?" Ruby asked after a moment, wondering if she was dealing with yet another powered individual. 

Sarah shrugged her shoulders. "As far as I knew she wasn't, but now..." She trailed off, barely catching the blonde as the girl passed out again. Sarah carefully laid Liv back down on the table. "I didn't know about her trying to kill herself, maybe it caused some underlying powers to kick in. Some weird survival instinct, maybe. She should be dead, but all she has been doing is vibrating like this." 

Ruby groaned and then began to look around her apartment, moving to rifle through the kitchen drawers. She didn't know what was wrong with Liv, but she didn't want the girl dying in her house. If Liv had overdosed then making sure she got the stuff out of her system was the best bet. Mixing together some ingredients from her kitchen, she cared the liquid over to Sarah. 

"Force her to drink this, she'll throw up whatever she took. It always worked for me and my friends in college. You need to make sure she doesn't aspirate on her vomit though, we're trying to save her life here. Then get her to an actual doctor." Ruby commanded, rolling Liv onto her side once Sarah got the liquid down Liv's throw. 

Almost immediately the blonde began to puke, throwing up all over Ruby's table and floor. The vet looked disgusted, mumbling under her breath, but found herself holding Liv's hair back. 

"That's it, get it all out kid," Sarah whispered rubbing soft circles on her neighbor's back. 

"Uh, that was gross," Liv mumbled weakly, her voice cracking. 

Ruby rolled her eyes skyward cursing whatever deity had sent the two women into her apartment. "Sarah get her to the hospital now. I don't want her dying on my table." 

Sarah carefully scooped Liv up into her arms, cradling the smaller girl like a child. "I am sorry about your floor Ruby and for breaking in. I'll make it up to you someday, I'll have to come back and help you install better security measures." 

"No, please don't do that. I don't want to ever see you again." Ruby called after the retreating hero. "Don't come back! I am serious Sarah!"

Ruby made sure to lock the door after her, before frowning when she realized she had been left to clean up the puke off of her floor. The only silver lining was that she had at least saved two people, even if both of them were kind of annoying. Ruby just hoped that the hospital would actually be able to get the blonde the physical and mental help she needed. 

The vet began to clean up the mess the other two had left behind, but as she began to scrub the floor, she recalled a memory from her youth. She had been poisoned once before, it was actually how she had gotten her powers. 

Ruby hadn’t been born in San Francisco, she had actually moved to the city fifteen years earlier when she was thirteen. Her parents were divorced and while her mother had moved to the foggy city, Ruby had chosen to go on a trip with her father. Her dad had been a photographer for National Geographics and was taking pictures in Africa. He had been doing a piece on poachers in the area and word had gotten out. The poachers had been trying to poison him but Ruby had mistakenly taken his canteen. 

For two days afterward she lingered between life and death, twisted up in agony. It was only by the intervention of a man from Wakanda that she had been saved. Ruby still had vague memories of the days that followed, but after she recovered she had the ability to turn into animals. At first, it started out as dreams where she’d be soaring high in the sky or hunting prey like a lion, only to wake up with large rips in her bedding. 

Ruby’s father had sent her back home along with a ruby-red talisman. Whenever she felt like her powers were too much, she was supposed to focus her energy on it and it would keep her from turning. She could still shape-shift when she wanted too, but the talisman helped her control it. 

Now fifteen years later and seeing Liv suffering side effects from poisoned-pills, it brought all those memories back up again. Ruby took a calming breath, trying to push those thoughts away. The corner drug dealers were not the same people as the poachers who had poisoned her. 

Ruby finished cleaning up and made her way to the bathroom. She just wanted to shower and forget about the weird day she had, put everything behind her. She was merely a vet-tech, the hero life wasn’t meant for her. San Francisco didn't need another hero, it already had enough. At least that way the lie she kept telling herself.


	2. Issue #2 - A headache of a day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Liv Morgan has a horrible, horrible day to go along with a horrible headache. Not only does it turn out she has powers, but she manages to get on the bad side of San Francisco's main protector Storm Zero.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick trigger warning to go along with Liv's origin story. She's super depressed and suicidal, so if that triggers you, you may want to avoid reading this chapter. Liv's back story deals with a lot of other angsty things as well, so this chapter might be too heavy for some readers. If you're not in a good headspace I would avoid reading it. 
> 
> Also, be sure to read the other works in this series. My wonderful collaborators are crafting wonderful stories, so be sure to check them out. 
> 
> Thank you to everybody who is reading the story, be sure to leave kudos, comments and subscribe for the next issue and installment of the story. 
> 
> ~ Relentlass

_Run._

_Run and don’t stop, if you stop the monsters will get you._

_Don’t look back, kid._

_Run._

Liv Morgan jolted awake and bolt upright in her hospital bed, the monitors that she was attached to, seemed to malfunction all at once. It was as if a surge of energy passed through them, blowing out the fuses. The hospital lights overhead flickered for a few moments and then completely went out. It took about thirty seconds before the backup power to kick on, but in that thirty seconds, Liv was moving out of the hospital room. 

A trail of blood drops marked the direction she went in, as she stumbled from the room and towards the stairwell. Liv could hear voices calling out her name, but the loudest voice of all was in her mind, telling her to run. The voice urged her to go fast, faster, even faster still. 

So she did. 

One second she was in the hospital's stairwell and the next second she was six blocks away in the middle of Golden Gate Park. Liv was confused and not entirely sure that she wasn’t hallucinating somehow. She had been in the hospital that much she knew, but everything else before that was a bit of a hazy clump of memories.

Her neighbor Sarah had found her, had taken her somewhere after Liv overdosed on the drugs. For some reason Liv couldn’t recall why she had taken all the pills and then it dawned on her. The reason she was running, the reason she felt like she had been running her entire life. 

_Family._

Her brother Angelo had been yelling at her, after her father’s death, he had been the man of the house. He had employed Liv and her five other siblings to do whatever was necessary to bring in money. Her mom worked double shifts at a diner so her mom had never known the kind of mess Angelo was getting them into. It had started out small, stealing from the neighbors in their old neighborhood. Then they had moved into a shadier apartment downtown, and Angelo had forced the siblings into taking just about anything that wasn't bolted to the ground.

Liv’s two older sisters had been forced into prostitution, but Liv being the youngest had been molded into a pickpocket of sorts, following her brothers around. While her older brothers would cause distractions, Liv would steal purses, watches, cellphones, anything she could get her hands on. She had gotten scary good at being able to swipe the wallets of people along the piers. Most of her victims didn't even realize somebody had stolen from them, until after Liv was already long gone.

When Angelo wasn’t on a drug and alcohol-induced binder, he was kind, he had called Liv his speed angel. The only rules she had been given grown-up was that family was everything and to always keep running. If she got caught she was supposed to take her punishment and not rat out her brothers or sisters. Liv couldn’t even remember why Angelo had been yelling at her that day in particular, her older brother always seemed to be mad about something the past few years.

Liv's head had been pounding and ringing endlessly, his screaming only making it worse. He kept yelling at her, shaking her and calling her worthless. Liv did remember buying the pills, one of the corner dealers had offered her a bargain. Liv just wanted the pain to stop, wanted her headache to stop, wanted it all to stop. 

After that everything was mashed together like it had been tossed in a blender. Her falling on the steps outside her apartment, the vibrating in place and shaking, Sarah taking her to a strange lady with tattoos, more shaking, her throwing up and then darkness. 

Liv assumed her neighbor had taken her to the hospital. She supposed she owed Sarah a thank you for that, but Liv wasn’t sure she wanted to thank Sarah for saving her life. Liv glanced at her hands realizing for the first time that she had been bleeding, but before her very eyes, the skin was patching itself back together. 

“That’s weird,” Liv mumbled, staring intently at her hands. She glanced up and looked around the park, everybody around her seemed to be moving in super slow motion. Liv couldn’t believe her eyes and blinked a couple of times. Everything around her seemed to catch up and start to move normally. 

“What’s wrong with me?” Liv questioned as the pounding in her head started to get loud again. It was enough to drive her to her knees as she squeezed her eyes shut. She didn’t understand what was happening but she needed it to stop. It felt like everything was too much all at once. 

“Are you okay lady?” 

Liv opened an eye to find a little girl staring at her, holding a balloon animal. “Go away squirt. Leave me alone, something is wrong with me” Liv said waving the girl away. She didn’t want to end up hurting the girl.

“You look like you’re gonna die. Do you want me to get my mom?” The little girl asked, ignoring Liv’s attempt at getting her to leave. 

“Just go away and stop asking me questions” Liv screamed, trying to push herself back up on her feet. The surge of emotion and momentum shot Liv running forward. At first, she didn’t realize she was moving that fast at all, but as Liv glanced around she realized that everybody else was simply standing still in comparison. “What the heck, what the heck, what the heck,” Liv said, trying to stop herself right as she slammed into the back of a big rig truck parked near the other side of the park.

Liv rebounded off of it and landed flat on her back. She stared up at the blue sky, wondering what was happening to her. Why was everybody else moving so slow? How come she wasn’t dead? She didn’t have very long to ponder these questions as the clear sky above her started to grey, the fog and clouds rolling in. 

“Crap,” Liv mumbled, she had lived in San Francisco long enough to know what was coming next: _Storm Zero_

Other towns had their heroes and villains, Liv knew this because she collected their trading cards and followed them religiously on social media. Her favorite person to follow wasn’t a hero, it was the Queen of Spades. Liv had always complained that the super-villain from New York was most likely just misunderstood. Somebody who could do cool card tricks with their powers couldn’t be all bad right? Liv has a serious hatred for the cronies usually accompanying the Queen of Spades. She had written a lot of letters addressed to Spades, covering a range of topics but had never gotten one back. It was mostly Liv’s way of coping with her crappy life. She wasn’t even sure that the Queen of Spades had received them, but it didn't matter. If Spades was her favorite, there was one Liv disliked more than any other hero or villain. The hero that Liv hated the worst was San Francisco’s own Storm Zero. 

Due to the rackets that her brother ran, this wasn’t the first time that Liv had run into Storm Zero. She hated the hero’s holier-than-thou demeanor, it rubbed Liv the wrong way. Viking never acted like a major dick, Liv would have much rather had to deal with her. 

Lightening cracked near Liv’s spot on the ground as the black and red boots of Storm Zero landed on the ground. 

“Aren’t the studs a little overkill? You're like a billboard for tryhards.” Liv asked in disapproval, nodding to the multiple studs on Storm Zero’s jacket. Not that Liv had room to talk, but the hero was a walking fashion disaster. "You should talk to Spades about simple leather jackets, she might be able to help you."

Storm Zero’s eyes narrowed on Liv, leading her to believe the hero wasn’t in much of a joking mood. 

“Freeze speedster!”

“Speedster?” Liv looked around in confusion wondering if Quicksilver was around. It took her a little bit before realizing that the hero was talking about her. “What? No, come on, I’m not a speedster.” Liv protested nervously, but even as she said it, she started to vibrate in place. She glared at her body, shaking her head as if it had somehow betrayed her.

“I said freeze, that means stop.” Storm Zero demanded, stepping towards Liv. “Before I make you stop.”

Liv sighed and held her hands up trying to signal that she didn’t want any issues. “I’m having a really bad day, can you please leave me alone. What did I do to warrant a visit from you, Zero?”

Storm Zero raised a hand and pointed behind Liv where a bunch of trash cans and debris were strewn about the park. Parents and children alike were cowering from the potential fight, while others were straight-up vacating the area. “Being a public nuisance for one. I had a call come in, a person matching your description just broke out of a hospital.” 

“Well… I wouldn’t call it breaking out. I checked myself out, I just didn’t tell anybody.” Liv explained, standing up. She placed a hand to her head, rubbing at her temples as she tried to soothe the headache.

“What part of freeze do you not understand? Are you deaf or just really stupid?” Storm Zero snapped, lightning and thunder crackling around her. 

Liv shivered as she felt the temperature of the air begin to drop around her. It only served to make her more irritated with the whole situation. “I don’t want any trouble, I have a headache okay? Just leave me alone. I didn’t ask for these powers, I don’t even want them. I’m not a speedster.” 

“Stop! Last chance” the lightning crackled again, landing perilously close to Liv’s feet. There was almost a sort of waver in Storm Zero's voice. "I will zap you, now get on the ground!"

“Seriously?” Liv’s eyes flashed dangerously and she stepped forward, anger welling up inside of her. She was tired of being told what to do, no matter what she did, it was never enough for anybody. “I just want to be left alone!” With that Liv ran at Storm Zero, knocking the hero backward. If Storm Zero didn't want to stop, then Liv was going to make her. 

The hero wasn't expecting Liv to attack her like that but quickly recovered. "Stand down, I don't want to hurt you Mate, but I will." Storm Zero quickly shot a lightning bolt at Liv, hoping to dissuade her from any further action.

All the hero's actions and warnings did was making Liv angry. Liv stood still as the electric bolt hit her, it didn't even budge her an inch. "My turn," Liv growled, running full force at the hero again, this time faster. She punched Storm Zero right in the jaw, sending the other hero flying head over heels backward and into the sandpit. 

Storm Zero groaned but slowly got to her feet, spitting out sand and gravel. She was starting to remember why she hated slugging it out with speedsters. Very rarely did Storm Zero call for help, but she had a feeling she was going to need it, though she wasn't sure if Viking was going to have much more luck. 

Liv didn't wait around to see who Storm Zero was trying to summon for help. Instead, Liv took the lull in fighting to just speed off and leave. She wasn't totally sure how to control her powers, but she wanted to get as far away from everybody else as she could. Her head was still throbbing, but now that she was getting away from everything, the headache seemed to lesson. 

Once she was far enough outside the city limits, Liv stopped running and just laid back down on a patch. She was extremely tired and hungry now, she felt completely drained of energy. In the distance, she could see the windmills on the hills that powered the whole bay area. Liv closed her eyes and allowed sleep to find her. 

\----

When Liv came too again, she found that she was no longer on the green hilltops outside of the city. Instead, she was laying on a very uncomfortable bed. She tried to move but found her hands were cuffed to the bed railing. The room she was in was small and really cold. There was a window, but it was up near the top of the room and sort of painted over so that very little light came in. It felt almost like a prison, which was when it dawned on Liv that she was actually in a prison, just not a functioning one. 

Liv had been on the tour of Alcatraz Island Museum more times then she could count. Normally it was to pickpocket people, but she knew these cells were familiar enough, her brother had locked her in one of them once during a tour. She wasn't sure why she was here now or why there weren't tours going on. Surely one of the visitors would have seen her and reported it.

Tugging at her handcuffs Liv growled, she wasn't totally sure how her powers worked but she was hoping they'd be able to get her out of the confinement. Liv closed her eyes, trying to summon her speed, but nothing happened. "Dang it." She cursed under her breath as her eyes began to water. She felt hot sticky tears of frustration spill down her cheeks.

"Whatever sick kinky thing this is, I do not consent! You do not have my consent, let me go!!" Liv yelled, before growing silent as her head throbbed in pain once again. 

Liv could hear voices just on the other side of the wall. She tried to focus, despite the headache, wanting to know if she knew who the voices belonged too.

Suddenly three people moved into view of Liv's holding cell. One of them was familiar, long brown hair that was braided slightly and the same friendly brown eyes that had rescued Liv in the first place: Sarah. Except Sarah was wearing a costume and had runes scribbled up and down her arms. 

"What is this, why are you dressed like Viking?" Liv questioned, before taking in the sight of Sarah's other two companions. One was a blonde girl with darker brown hair layered underneath, who was wearing Storm Zero's costume minus the mask. The last woman looked slightly older with fiery red hair, her gaze seemed to be burning a hole through Liv as if judging her. 

Sarah sighed softly. "Because I am Viking, this is Storm Zero and that is Alcatraz." She said pointing to each at them in turn.

Storm Zero looked at Sarah, the two having a silent conversation with just eye contact before Storm Zero shifted her attention back to Liv. "Sarah says you can be trusted, everybody calls me Storm Zero but my name is Toni. "

Liv didn't fail to notice that Toni hadn't given her last name, for now, Liv decided not to press it. "So you all are heroes? Why am I here?"

"I insisted they bring you here," Alcatraz said, gesturing around them. "I am known as Alcatraz, I named myself after this very island. You may call me Becky." 

"Why am I here though, why did you want me brought here? The last thing I remember, I was fighting you, Toni." Liv tugged at her handcuffs, irritated that she was still chained up. "Will you let me go?"

Becky frowned and slowly limped into the former prison cell, the way that she moved was similar to somebody who had gotten hurt and didn't quite trust their body to fully support them. "You were fighting Toni, I am the one who sent her after you. Sarah had mentioned to me about your accident. The handcuffs are power dampeners, they stop you from using your speed." She explained. 

Liv frowned and tried to force herself up into a sitting position, it wasn't exactly comfortable but at least she wasn't flat on her back. "I didn't ask for my speed. I just started getting these headaches-"

"You tried to kill yourself, I know Sarah told me. Your powers weren't caused by the drugs you took, though the drugs did help in kickstarting your abilities. I did a blood test while you were unconscious, you've always had these powers. There was a mental block almost like a barrier preventing you from using them." Becky said, tilting her head to the side as she studied Liv. 

"What are you trying to say? I've had something blocking my powers my whole life?" Liv didn't exactly understand what was going on and it only served to frustrate her more. She also didn't like the way Becky was looking at her, as if she was some sort of lab experiment.

Toni moved to free Liv from the handcuffs. "You kept saying you had a headache right? Well, it seems like your headache was caused by your powers trying to fight against the mental block. Have you been under a lot of stress?" 

Liv let out a bitter laugh. "A lot of stress? I've been stressed my whole life, you try growing up with six siblings." Liv snapped, rubbing at her wrists once they were free. She wasn't sure if she totally believed what Becky and Toni were trying to tell her. "With the number of pills I took, I shouldn't be alive." 

"A lot of speedsters have speed healing." Sarah pointed out, her heart was breaking for her friend. "Look I know it's a lot to take in, but we can help you and you can help us. We can get you the training needed to control your powers." 

Liv locked eyes with Sarah. "I am sick of people trying to control me and use me. The past twenty-four hours have kind of sucked. I just found out somebody blocked my powers, that I didn't even know I had. Not to mention, you three are holding me captive down here and had me in power-dampening restraints. Which honestly seems like overkill."

"We did just free you though." Toni pointed out, before shrugging. "It wasn't overkill, we handcuffed you so you wouldn't hurt yourself again. Your powers have somehow overcome the mental block, so you should have full access to them. We were trying to protect you and everybody else."

Liv scowled at her, not at all amused. "I want to learn how to use my powers so I don't hurt anybody else or myself, but I don't like or trust either of you." She said nodding to Toni and Becky. "Where have you even been Alcatraz, the city needs you and you're hiding underground like a coward." 

Becky looked almost hurt by the question. "Not all of us have speed healing." She said icily, before turning and slowly making her way out of the cell. 

Sarah was frowning at Liv and just shook her head. "Alcatraz isn't a coward, she got hurt fighting Bonemaster. He broke her neck and back, he almost paralyzed her. That's why Becky hasn't been around, she's been trying to recover and train Storm Zero and me." 

"I didn't know," Liv admitted, feeling ashamed that she had accused Becky of being a coward. 

"I get that you don't like us, but we're outnumbered when it comes to the people in this city who want to do bad. You have an extraordinary gift, and maybe you didn't want it, but your powers saved your life for a reason. You can put that gift to good use and be a hero, but if you choose to abuse your abilities, I will put you down where you stand." Toni warned, she had a code of honor, but she was angry about Liv's disrespect towards Becky. 

"Let me take you home Liv, you've had a lot to deal with." Sarah gestured for Liv to follow her. 

"You're going to let me go, just like that? Aren't you worried about me using my new powers for evil?" Liv asked quietly, Sarah of all people knew the kind of life that Liv had been leading. 

Sarah thought about it for a moment, before shaking her head. "I don't think that is who you are, you're not a bad person Liv. Maybe misguided and annoying sometimes, but if you actually set your mind to something you could achieve it. You could help make this city a better place, but I won't tell you what to do. That's a decision you have to make." 

Liv chewed her bottom lip, worrying it between her teeth as she followed Sarah out of the old prison. "Alcatraz would train me and help me make a difference?" 

"If Alcatraz couldn't train you herself, she'd call in one of her contacts in the Avengers. She would make sure you could use your powers in a safe way." Sarah said shrugging, before adding. "I'd also help train you and I know Toni would help. We need all the help we can get."

"I guess I owe Becky and Toni an apology. I just get irritated by being told what to do all the time. I've never got to really live for myself, plus the headache has been bothering me nonstop." 

The older hero gave a thoughtful hum. "Apologizing right now to Alcatraz or Storm Zero isn't wise, they'll need some time to cool off. I'll speak with Becky later, maybe she has something that can help with your headache. For now, it would be in your best interest to just go home and rest, maybe lay low for a while. Try to not use your powers in public until you know how to control them." Sarah suggested, trying to make it seem less like a command and more of a suggestion. 

"Sleep does sound good and so does food." Liv's stomach gave a loud growl. 

Sarah laughed and rolled her eyes. "That's the other thing about being a speedster, you're going to need to eat a lot." 

Liv cracked a smile as they made it out into the fresh air. "Eating a lot? That is something I think I can do, I love food."

"Let's go eat then," Sarah said, putting back on her mask not that she was in public. "How do you feel about barbecue?"

"Is it too late to tell you I'm a vegan?" 

Sarah groaned and lightly shoved Liv forward. “I like you less already.” She joked, flashing her a smile to show she was teasing. "Come on, you can tell me all about how you kicked Toni's butt without even trying. I want to hear all about it."


	3. Issue #3 - A moment of bliss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look at some of the villains in San Francisco. 
> 
> Alexa Bliss shows up at an event she's not invited too and lays out her next big scheme much to the chagrin of the people whose party she is crashing.

While San Francisco had a handful of heroes in the likes Alcatraz, Storm Zero and Viking, there was a larger amount of villains. The type of scum that hung out near the Embarcadero at shady warehouses and venues. The upper echelon of the villains tended to have their monthly poker games and exclusive events. It was an invite-only sort of thing, reserved for those who were considered big-time criminals which made Alexa Bliss’ entrance all the more surprising. 

Adam Cole was better known to the citizens of the bay city as Boom had made the guest list himself. He was the one who ran the poker game and he was not at all pleased to see Alexa. Not only had she not been invited, but in his opinion, she was a small-time drug dealer at best. Worst of all, she had apparently decided to bring some friends along to help crash the party. He stood up from his seat and cleared his throat. 

“This is a closed party. If you’re looking for the princess ball it’s three blocks that way.” Adam announced, clearly mocking Alexa’s dress. 

“I always did fancy myself a party crasher,” Alexa said almost cheerfully. She ignored the way that Adam was walking threateningly towards her, Alexa wasn’t scared of much. 

Adam’s fist clenched at his side. “You’re not welcome here Bliss. You aren’t big enough to play with the big boys.” 

Alexa looked at her nails and sighed. “I see Blizzard is here or does your sexism only extend to me?” 

Adam glanced over to where Blizzard sat and then back to Alexa. “Look Blizzard had earned her invite.” 

“The last thing I heard was that she beat by Viking. Does Viking even have powers?” Alexa asked directing the question to Nattie. 

The air seemed to grow a couple of degrees colder as Blizzard started to get angry. “Shut your mouth you knock-off Barbie doll.” Natalya spat, getting to her feet. 

“Ooh, why so touchy, did I hit a nerve snowflake?” Alexa chuckled, clearly enjoying the fact that she was getting a rise out of the other villains. “I’m here to play poker.” She ran her fingers along one of the tables, visibly scowling at all the dust. 

Adam Cole did not like to be embarrassed but he figured it was better to just let Alexa play. He would have to find a way to get rid of her later. “How did you even get past security.” He asked gesturing for her to take a seat.

“You’d be surprised how persuasive I can be Boom,” Alexa said, settling in at the table. She gave a brief nod over her shoulder to an equally short girl. The brunette hadn’t left Alexa’s side, lurking just a pace behind like a shadow. “I just asked my friend Circe to sing them a little song. Please demonstrate Circe.” Alexa held up a glass. 

None of the other villains knew what to expect, but when Alexa’s protege opened her mouth, they quickly found out. A loud ear-piercing sonic scream echoed around the building, easily shattering every single glass cup. 

Adam quickly covered his ears, wincing at the loud noise. He was quite certain that he was going to end up with a lingering headache. “Enough!”

Alexa held up a hand and Circe stopped yelling. “She has the ability to do that sonic cry in somebody’s ear and kill them. She’s been practicing.” Alexa said, smiling at Circe who gave a nod. 

“Well, that was overly dramatic and unnecessary,” Blizzard muttered, brushing the shattered remains of her glass off the table. She was still not impressed with Alexa showing up and interrupting the poker game. 

“So Boom, are you going to introduce me to your friends?” Alexa asked, wiggling her eyebrows almost flirtatiously. 

“You know Blizzard, that’s Strong, O’Reilly, Fish, and the sulking guy is Bonemaster,” Adam said, nodding to them each in turn. 

“Why do they call you Bonemaster?” Alexa asked curiously. She knew exactly who he was, but she wanted to take stock of him herself. “What can you do?”

Bonemaster glanced in her direction, a permanent scowl etched upon his face. “I like to hurt people. Crush their bones and use them as weapons against them.” He said, before holding out his fist. Slowly he forced one of his own bones out through the skin until it dropped down on the table. “I can do a lot of things, little lady. I can break people’s bones or use my own as weapons. My other abilities are a surprise, but ask Alcatraz if you want to know the full extent of what all I can do.” 

Alexa arched a brow and gave a slow clap. “So you’re the one who almost crippled the city’s great hero. Consider me impressed Bonemaster, I know not to make an enemy of you.” 

Bonemaster just grunted in response, pleased that she recognized his power. 

“I already know what frosty over there can do, what about you Boom. What can you do?” Alexa questioned, wanting to know who she was dealing with. 

“A whole heck of a lot more than you can Tinkerbell,” Adam said as he began dealing out the cards. 

If was Alexa was bothered by his patronizing tone, she didn’t react. She instead just stared at her cards, deciding how best to play them, metaphorically and physically. 

"Would you mind giving us a demonstration, I don't think Circe or I have ever witnessed your talents," Alexa said, sickly sweet. Whether Adam knew it or not, Alexa was manipulating him into revealing what all he could do. 

Adam Cole's eyes darkened and he held up one of his hands pointing it at another table. He clenched his fist and then shot out a bolt of energy, burning a hole through the other table. "I call that a Panama Sunrise, I can light people up like the fourth of July with my powers. I also have the ability to make intricate explosives." 

Alexa shared a long look with her comrade, before flashing a dazzling smile at Adam. "That's actually why I am here, networking if you will. See I need a specific device made, an intricate bomb and I think you might be the man to do it." 

"Why would I help you, why would any of us help you?" Adam asked, chuckling in disbelief. He couldn't believe the nerve of this low-level pixie queen. "We're not street thugs buttercup." 

"Because I am planning a heist, and not just any heist I intend to steal from Doom Industries itself. I received some intel that there is a research lab on Alcatraz Island. We kidnap the head scientist Becky Lynch and we grab the technology in the lab." 

Nattie looked at Alexa and then burst out laughing. "You want to steal from Doom Industries. Are you out of your mind, do you have a death wish?" 

"Oh, you mistake me, Blizzard! I am merely evening the playing field for the rest of us. I have heard from a rumor on the street that the lab on the island has something that interests me. A nano-particle suit, a proto-type taken from SHIELD after the fall of the Triskellion. I doubt the CEO would even realize it got hit." 

That caught Adam's attention and he leaned forward to hear Alexa's plan. "Let's say for instance you even get on that island, how are you going to contend with Storm Zero and Viking? You know they hang out around downtown." 

Alexa smirked at her, eyes sparkling with mischief. "I have some friends of my own Boom. But I'd be willing to pay out a couple million to whoever helps me. See I intend to keep Viking and Storm Zero busy. That bomb I need you to make, I am going to use it to blow up a charity gala across town. Have a few of my friends loot the place. Storm Zero and Viking will be kept busy and if I have my way neutralized." 

"And if Alcatraz herself comes out to play?" Blizzard asked, wondering if Alexa's plan could actually work. 

This time Alexa looked to Bonemaster. "Well, if Alcatraz decides to show herself, I'll put her down myself and make sure she stays there." She said as she locked eyes with him. 

"You are insane," Blizzard muttered, finally coming to a decision. "Stealing from Doom Industries, even a small research lab is suicide. You do realize who you're messing with." 

Alexa laughed and shrugged. "I enjoy a little chaos, besides when you're new on the playground you go after the biggest kid. I want that nano suit and I will not let anybody get in my way." Alexa pushed her chair back from the table and stood to her feet. 

"Wait, I haven't agreed to make that explosive for you," Adam called out to her, wondering if she was really all talk or not. "You said you could pay me for the job?"

Circe stepped in between them, her eyes were dark. "Don't get any closer." She warned, not willing to let Adam near her boss. 

Alexa spared him a glance. "I don't know if I need your help anymore cupcake. You might be too low-level for me now that I think about it." Alexa said putting in as much disgust as she could. Alexa could take being insulted, but she wasn't one to forget. She snapped and resumed walking out with Circe at her heels. 

Adam watched her walk out and then sat back down, shaking his head. "I think I may have underestimated that one. She's more dangerous than I thought and she's likely to bring a lot of unwanted attention to our city." 

"Should we kill her, I'd be glad to drive an ice dagger through her pretty little throat." Blizzard offered, having not forgotten Alexa's slight to her earlier. 

"No, not yet. Let's see if she is all talk, but if the time comes that the little street urchin becomes too big for her britches, we'll put her down." Adam mused, nodding to Bonemaster. "You might have to put down her friend as well, she gave me a headache." 

"Do you think she can actually pull it off, robbing that lab?" Bonemaster asked, genuinely curious. It took a lot of balls to be willing to attack a research lab knowing just who owned it. He definitely didn't want to be around when the crap hit the fan. 

"I'd like to see her attempt it or die trying. Either way, if she does somehow manage it and it provokes the powers that be, we'll simply give the tech back and make ourselves an ally. If she gets away with it though, we can all steal it from her later." Adam didn't like the young upstart and was already trying to think of ways to get rid of her or knock her back down a few pegs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to give a shout out to my cowriters who are writing this universe with me and crafting such wonderful stories. Sith and Vegas, you both are so amazing and so talented. Everybody should really go read their stories, subscribe, kudo and leave comments on them. They deserve all the recognition for their hard work. 
> 
> Anyways I hope you all are enjoying the au, lots of mischiefs to be had when Alexa Bliss is involved. 
> 
> ~ Relentlass


	4. Issue #4 - Codename: Alcatraz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look into how Becky Lynch became the hero known as Alcatraz and how she's coping with the injury that sidelined her.

Becky Lynch loved San Francisco, something about the craziness of the town had attracted to her. There was something for everybody in the city, where a person could find their calling and their tribe. While the big city had a lot of problems, it was her adopted home town. She had moved to the city when she was ten and had fallen in love with it. Now eighteen years later there was no place she would have rather been. The city was as much a part of her, as she was an intricate part of it.

The Ireland native could still recall stepping off the plane in the bustling international airport all the years prior. The city had been loud, foggy and yet somehow beneath the grey skies Becky had felt at peace. She loved the smell of the ocean, the bustle of the city. Her mother and her stepfather had worked hard for Becky to be able to have a comfortable life in the city. 

Her step-dad Peter had actually been a tech genius who worked for Stark Industries. Some of Becky's fondest memories had been doing experiments with him in the kitchen. Her mom had spent most of Becky's childhood signing her up for camps and different clubs because she wanted Becky to fit in and make friends. The importance of education had been instilled in her, as was the importance of creativity. Her parents were constantly challenging her to enter science fairs and to try and get the little internships with outside the box thinking. 

It was at one of these science internships when she was fifteen that she had been bitten by a special spider. Becky had gotten really sick afterward and for a while, her doctors hadn’t been sure she'd make it. Becky’s parents never left her bedside, refusing to give up hope despite what the doctors were saying. When Becky later recovered from the sickness and discovered her superpowers, her dad had been the first one she told. 

Peter had helped train Becky, telling her to use her powers for good. He wouldn’t allow her to use her powers for anything outside of helping others. His favorite thing to quote to her was the saying ‘hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard’. Despite the extraordinary gifts, he did his best to keep her life normal and keep her focused on teenager things when she wasn’t out training.

When a drunk driver killed him a week after her eighteen birthday, Becky had been gutted. Something inside of the girl seemed to snap and for a few months, Becky lost herself. Her own mother had become a reclusive alcoholic. Despite Becky’s best efforts, she couldn't save her mom from drinking herself into an early grave. The loss of both the only parents she knew, once again changed Becky.

It haunted her that she had been incapable of saving them, so she turned to try to save other people. Becky had named herself Alcatraz not only for the city but because it had been one of the places she had visited frequently with her step-dad. In the midst of her personal chaos, she had made the choice to become a beacon of hope.

Being the protector of a city as big as San Francisco had been difficult, she didn’t really know what she was doing. Becky's appearance on the scene had prompted a lot of villains to come out of the woodwork and at first, she wasn’t even sure how to handle everything. After about three months of struggling with her own rogue's gallery and saving the mayor numerous times, she finally caught the attention of the federal government. Becky had made a deal with S.H.I.E.L.D. to sign their accords and in return, they had given her access to some of their technology to upgrade her own suit.

Just in time too, because soon after Loki had tried to invade Earth, bringing alien forces. That had been years prior, but it had driven Becky to make the decision that she needed a sidekick or at least some backup. She had been fighting some aliens in Golden Gate Park when she had met a seventeen-year-old Toni Storm for the very first time. Toni was being surrounded, but before Becky could even save her, the Australians powers manifest and Toni ended up saving herself. Becky had offered to train the homeless street kid, and they had become a team. 

Everything had been going well, but then after the blip, when Becky had come back, Toni was older now. Her former protege now calling herself Storm Zero was an adult and had been protecting San Francisco in Becky's absence. Becky had wanted to prove that she could still be San Francisco's top hero, her arrogance had led to her picking a fight with a new villain, that she hadn’t done much background on.

Becky hated to admit it, but she should have taken her time. In the end, she had picked a fight with the wrong person. Becky had sought out a man they called Bonemaster, though thanks to some SHIELD intel she had found out his real name was Pete Dunne. He worked as one of San Francisco’s hottest club promoters. In a desperately foolish attempt to prove that she was still the city’s top hero, she had gone after Dunne all by herself. Her reward for her stupidity was the fact that she had been beaten within an inch of her life. Pete Dunne would have killed her if Storm Zero hadn’t shown up and scared him off. 

Toni had saved Becky’s life but the damage had been done. A broken back and broken neck had continued to keet Becky out of action for over a year. Only now was she beginning to walk and move around without assistance. She couldn’t stay on her feet for more than thirty minutes without needing to sit down, and the cold weather was a constant reminder of her pain. 

It was hard to allow Toni to become the main hero of San Francisco, but Becky had quickly realized that Storm Zero was what the city needed. Becky had thrown herself back into her technology research, having been headhunted by Von Doom Industries. It gave the hero something to do while she attempted to recover. 

Being sidelined wasn’t easy though and Becky was longing for a change of pace. She worked on the projects she was assigned but she had also taken over surveying her city. That was how she had found Viking. Thanks to some persuasion by Toni, Becky had made sure that Sarah was brought into their folds. Having two heroes fighting the different villains was better and it relieved Becky to know that Toni wouldn’t be out in the field by herself.

That had worked well for a while until it was discovered that there were more metahumans living in the Bay Area. It was Sarah who brought Liv to Becky’s attention and asked the tech genius to save the petty thief. Becky hadn’t trained anybody in a while, but she figured that if she helped Liv gain control over her speed powers it would only work in her favor. It was better to keep Liv on their side then let her be swayed to help out the villains of the city. So far, however, Liv was proving to be quite the challenging pupil and very adept at getting on everybody’s nerves.

\-----

“How much longer do we have to do this?” Liv asked, running through the extensive obstacle course Becky had set up again. She had been running it for the past hour and Liv was more than a little sick and tired of it. Becky had clearly put in a lot of work, the course had climbing walls, a small maze, and a lot of smaller obstacles that Liv found to be irritating. 

“Until you hit every single target, you run it again,” Becky said, giving Liv a pointed glance. She kept upping the difficulty on certain parts of the course, wanting to test Liv’s abilities.

Liv rolled her eyes. “When I was told I could train with the great Alcatraz, I thought we might try some hand-to-hand combat, not gym class,” Liv whined but ran the obstacle course again. Part of her wanting to get faster just to stick it to Becky.

Becky sighed loudly and glanced at the screens in front of her that were monitoring Liv’s vitals. “I am not really in the best shape for hand-to-hand, but I am sure we could ask Toni or Sarah to train with you.” 

“I already beat Toni,” Liv said, ignoring the huff that came from Toni. “No offense Zero.” 

“I was taking it easy on you in the park, I could take you,” Toni called setting her book down. She had wanted to be out patrolling, but Becky had insisted that she stay behind and help train Liv, while Sarah handled patrols.

Liv raised a brow and chuckled. “I was taking it easy on you too blondie.” 

Toni scowled at her. “You’re blonde as well you dummy.” 

Becky pinched the bridge of her nose, she was starting to get fairly irritated. “Ladies please, let’s stay focused on our training.” 

“She started it!” Liv said sticking out her tongue and pointing at Toni. 

Toni surged to her feet, taking a step towards Liv, but Becky held up a hand to stop them.

“I frankly don’t care who started it, I am finishing it. If you two want to fight then go do some actual sparring. I won’t have you screwing up my lab.” Becky warned darkly. She knew Liv acting out was the girl’s defense mechanism but it didn’t make it any easier to deal with. 

Liv pouted but then turned to Toni and gave a half-shrug. “If you want to get your butt kicked again, I’m down to kick it.” She said smugly. 

Toni exchanged glances with Becky but then nodded. “Alright then Liv, let’s spar and see what you got,” Toni said, already plotting something to knock Liv flat on her backside. 

Becky watched them leave and then deflated into her seat. Her back was hurting and she was getting tired for the day. All she wanted to do was curl up in her bed with a relaxing book. There was a part of her that wished she could train with Liv, but Becky knew she wasn’t there yet in her own recovery. It was more likely that Liv would end up hurting her if they did try and spar. So, for now, it was better to leave it to Storm Zero. That realization was still bittersweet though and it ate at her.

There was a seed of doubt in the back of Becky’s mind that she would never be completely healed or back to her old self. She wasn’t sure if the city needed Alcatraz anymore if anybody needed her anymore. A spark of panic hit her, catching fire in her chest as she recalled the sound of her bones breaking. Ever since her accident, Becky had been dealing with panic attacks. She clutched the edge of the table and forced herself to try and slow down her breathing. It took her a good fifteen minutes to calm down, but by the time she did, she was too exhausted to really socialize. 

So taking the backway to her sleep quarter, Becky moved as fast as she could. Her bed was her safe space and not even Toni would come to her quarters unless invited. Becky just wanted to pull the pillows over her head and rest for a while, if she could make it through the panic attack she had a feeling she could make it until morning. That was how it usually went anyways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big shoutout to my co-writers for their help. You should go read their works in this series, they are phenomenal. Be sure to shout them out some love, they deserve all the kudos/comments/subs and whatnot. Their works are awesome.


	5. Issue #5 - A match made in Valhalla

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Sarah Logan/Viking centric chapter. 
> 
> A bit of Sarah's back story and how she deals with Liv trying to set her up on Tinder.

Sarah Logan had never really thought that love would be in the cards for her. She had moved to San Francisco six years prior from Kentucky on a sort of whim. It wasn't like her family wasn't good to her, they were loyal and kind. It was because of the strong support system that Sarah had attempted to spread her wings on the opposite side of the United States. For some reason it felt like the city by the bay had called to her and it was where Sarah had made her home. 

Kentucky had been great for her but Sarah longed for some so much more. While some might have thought she had downgraded her life, she felt like it was an upgrade. Sure her apartment was crappy and the building had more criminals than law-abiding citizens, but it didn't matter. San Francisco was expensive and Sarah was just happy to have a place to live, a sense of purpose. 

By day she worked at a fitness gym as a personal trainer, occasionally helping out at an outdoor sports store. In her free time, she tried to rescue and help people. She had developed her love of saving people back in Kentucky, it was like a drug that she was hooked on. 

It had been back home that Sarah had realized she was gifted when she had rescued her cousins who was pinned under a tractor. Sarah had used all of her strength to try and lift it, but she had still been shocked when it moved. She was more durable than most, but she could still be wounded. Only her family had known and they had tried to dissuade her from using her powers in public, in case it drew unwanted attention. 

Sarah's Pappaw had advised her to avoid people who were out to take advantage of her gifts. She was a lot closer to the old man than any of her siblings or cousins. In a lot of ways, she felt like they were two birds of a feather, bother fairly eccentric. While Sarah's family life had been happy, she had often felt a deep-seated connection to nature and her surroundings, which led to her being misunderstood. Nobody understood her fascination with always working out or survival hikes that she went on with her Pappaw. 

It had actually been her grandfather that had given her a book on Norse mythology and Vikings. This was why when she had moved to San Francisco to make a difference she had picked Viking as her codename. She had done it in honor of the shared passion and because her grandfather always believed in her more than anybody else.

Her love life had suffered though, it had been what she sacrificed in order to keep being a hero and one with a fulltime day job as well. Recently however her neighbor Liv had convinced her to give it a try, well more like Liv created a dating profile for her and then told Sarah afterward. 

Sarah had wanted to be angry, but she realized that if Liv hadn't done it, she most likely would have never done it for herself. It was hard enough to face the possibility of rejection, but Sarah also didn't want to put anybody at risk. If she didn't tell her romantic partner that she was a hero, she'd would have to lie to them, but telling them would also put them in danger. 

Sarah had tried to ask her close friends Becky and Toni about it, but neither of them had been very helpful. Becky had tried to dissuade Sarah from making too many civilian attachments, while Toni had encouraged her to go for it since she was young. Apparently Alcatraz and Storm Zero rarely were on the same page about a lot of things lately, but Sarah appreciated the fact that they had tried to help her. Toni, in particular, had been the one to find out about Sarah's powers and bring her into the fold. Working as a team had required a lot of patience and trust, but Sarah was glad she had found her place on the team. She trusted them to have her back not only in the field but in her personal life as well. 

Liv, however, was like a dog with a bone and just wouldn't let it go. She was constantly bugging Sarah about the dating profile and if she had any hits. Sarah had done her best to vet anybody she thought might be a good fit, but none of them seemed her type. Then she had found Raymond Rowe's profile and Sarah's heart had squeezed so painfully she thought she might be having a heart attack of some kind. 

His profile had been simple enough: he was thirty-five, he worked as a kindergarten teacher, and he was into Viking reenactments, tattoos, Motocross and working out. From his few listed pictures he didn't look much like a teacher, but then she saw a picture of him in a knitted blue sweater and her heart had melted. Something about the light in his eyes attracted her and she figured she might as well give it a shot. It didn’t matter to Sarah that he was almost nine years older than her, she kind of dug his rugged looks. He seemed different and eccentric just like her.

Her Papaw had always told her when he was teaching her to hunt, that she'd miss a hundred percent of the shots that she didn't take, but that a good reward was worth the risk. Sarah took a deep calming breath and then wiped right on his profile, she just hoped that maybe it would work out. 

Sarah hadn't expected that he would get back to her as quickly as he did. She had been out patrolling when her phone had gone off signaling that he had sent her a message. Liv had warned her that sometimes people could be pretty lewd, but Ray was nothing but polite. He complimented her profile picture and asked a question about one of the Viking books in the background of one of her photos.

The hero almost didn't know how to respond to him at first, but soon they had developed an easy yet comfortable banter and she found herself really looking forward to talking to him. She was feeling so comfortable, in fact, that she had been the one to ask him out on a date to get some food. 

Ray had almost immediately accepted and offered to meet her on Fisherman's Wharf so that they could get some clam chowder in bread bowls. Sarah had quickly agreed to that, like the idea of spending some quality time with him while eating the clam chowder bowls. 

It was only after the plans were set that she freaked out a little bit. It had been a long time since she had gone on a date that meant something and she wasn't sure what to wear. So she had sought out her friends, trying to see what they would think. 

\----

"I think you should wear a skirt!" Liv said rushing from behind Sarah to show her the outfit. "You would look so sexy Sarah, he wouldn't be able to pick his jaw up off the floor. You could totally work it girl."

"Where did you even get that? Did you steal that?" Becky questioned, giving Liv a disapproving glance. Everybody was still trying to break Liv of her bad habit. 

Sarah scowled at the skirt and shook her head. "I am not comfortable in a skirt or a dress." 

Toni held up a maroon-colored button-up shirt. "Here put this on." She said giving Sarah a wide grin. 

Sarah frowned and put the shirt on, buttoning it all the way up. She wasn't built skinny like Liv or Toni, nor did she feel like she had Becky's poise. "I look stupid." 

Liv walked over and unbuttoned the first three buttons. "Nope, you look sexy." She said wiggling her eyebrows. 

Glancing in the mirror, Sarah sighed softly. "You guys are sleek and cute cars, I'm more like a truck." 

"Did she just call me a car?" It was Liv's turn to scowl. 

Becky glared at the speedster and rolled her eyes. "Not about you Liv." She limped slowly over to Sarah and turned her protege around to face her. She fixed the buttons and then took her hand. "You are powerful, strong and obviously this Rowe guys seems into you. I did a background check on him and he seems like a genuine person. As for being a car baby, you're a reliable car. If you have to be a truck, then you're a Ford F-150" 

Hearing Becky trying to talk cars to her just made Sarah laugh. She felt a little bit better now. "I would be a Ford," Sarah said before running a hand through her hair, trying to relax. 

"How about you keep the button-up, maybe lose the top button and pair it with some jeans and a leather jacket," Toni suggested, realizing that Sarah needed to be more comfortable. 

"You are going to look good in whatever you wear Sarah, he'll be a lucky guy." Liv gently nudged her friend's arm and then sped off to get the leather jacket for her. 

Sarah gave her friends a grateful smile and though she wasn't big on hugs, she made sure to give them all a hug. "Thank you guys, do you two have any big plans?" 

"I'm actually going to try and make contact with that shape-shifter you met. See if I can convince her to join us and put her powers to good use, I also have a shipment to pick up from Doom industries." Becky had been hard at work with the nano-tech stuff, but she had gotten a call about research for perfecting some household items. She had agreed to it because Becky truly did need to keep her day job. It was what helped pay her insurance for physical therapy.

Toni shifted awkwardly from foot to foot. "I might go on patrol or maybe give you some back up if you need it." She said looking to Becky. 

Sarah raised a brow, Alcatraz and Storm Zero seemed to have weird friction between them, but Sarah didn't care enough to ask about it. It wasn't her business anyway. "Should I bring my super suit in case there is any trouble?" 

Becky shrugged her shoulders. "Hopefully there won't be any trouble, Toni should be in the area and she could take Liv if she needs back up." 

"She isn't what I call field ready. It’s not like she’s Helios or Typhoon." Toni protested, still not Liv's biggest fan. She had serious doubts Liv could ever be a hero like the ones she had listed, Liv was too immature.

"Of course she isn’t Helios, Liv is still rough around the edges. She needs some on the job training, besides you can help her," Becky argued back pointedly, trying to reassert her authority. 

"Okay then... I am definitely bringing my suit." Sarah said waving to them over her shoulder as the two began to argue loudly. She snagged the leather jacket from Liv who was on her way back in and tried to calm herself. Sarah wanted her date to go smoothly, she kind of liked Ray already and she wanted to make a good impression. 

\----

Sarah found Raymond Rowe waiting for her outside the restaurant. He was wearing a red knitted sweater like in his picture and some dark jeans. He seemed almost as nervous as she felt, but Sarah found herself studying him from a distance. When he finally spotted her, a wide smile split his features, and Sarah felt like time had stopped around her. 

There was a warmth to his eyes, a look of understanding and yet the way the corners of his lips seemed to lift into a teasing smile had Sarah just about frozen in place. 

“Sarah, right? You look lovely, I’m Ray.” He said, sticking a hand out to shake hers. 

Sarah glanced down at his hand for a second, before shaking it. “Yeah, it’s nice to meet you, Ray.” She said, trying to remember not to squeeze his hand too hard. She didn’t want her first impression to be breaking it. 

It turned out that Sarah’s initial thoughts about him had been correct. Unlike a lot of people in San Francisco, he wasn’t vegan which made him a man after Sarah’s own heart. Sarah liked a man who enjoyed the quality steak. On top of that, he was very polite and yet still open to discussing worse things. Sarah tried to keep the conversation away from the usual taboos topics such as religion and politics, and Ray seemed fine with that. 

She quickly learned that he was an avid hunter and Viking reenactor. What drew Sarah most to him was that he seemed to have a lot of the same hobbies, he liked being just like she did. They were in the middle of a conversation about the fall out of people blipping away for five years when Sarah saw something outside the restaurant window. 

Across the street, Liv in a really crappy disguise had been thrown face-first into a vehicle. Sarah looked horror-struck over Ray’s shoulder as she watched Liv get up only to be hit with an icy blast of some kind. At first, Sarah was worried Toni had snapped and gone after Liv, but then she saw the white cloak that Blizzard always wore. 

“Um, will you please excuse me… I need to go to the ladies' room.” Sarah lied, quickly standing up from the table. She made it to the bathroom and cursed under her breath. Sarah usually refused to carry purses and so she pulled out her small backpack and pulled her mask out. She quickly changed, trying to hide her appearance. 

Sarah then went out of the restaurant the back way, catching Blizzard’s arm right as the ice witch attempted to stab Liv with her ice dagger. “What the heck?” Sarah hissed at Liv, wondering why her date was being interrupted. 

“Thanks for the save Viking,” Liv said trying to make her voice sound deeper. 

Sarah rolled her eyes and punched Blizzard in the face, knocking the supervillain down. “Where is Storm Zero?” 

Liv rolled her eyes. “I don’t need a chaperone. Besides Zero is so pretentious, I don't need her help.” 

“You kind of do, you almost just lost to Blizzard.” Sarah hefted Blizzard back up on her feet. She pulled some power-dampening cuffs from her purse and put them on Blizzard. “Can you handle getting her to the police? I am kind of in the middle of something.” 

Liv was scowling at Sarah almost vibrating in anger. "Yeah, I can do handle handing Blizzard over. I'm not a complete idiot." She muttered. Liv tried to glance into the restaurant wanting to see Sarah’s date. “How is that going by the way? Is there a Mr. Viking in the future.” 

Sarah’s cheek burned hot under her mask. “Shut up, not in front of the bad guy. Now get her out of here.” Sarah said, before rushing back into the restaurant. She tried to change in a storage closet in a vacant part of the restaurant without anybody seeing her. 

By the time she made it back to the table, Ray was starting to get to his feet, having put money on the table to pay for their meal. He looked surprised to see her. “I thought you had left.” 

“Oh um no. I didn’t leave, I was having stomach troubles. Feeling a little sick to my tummy.” Sarah lied, cringing internally at her excuse. 

Ray didn’t look like he believed her but then slowly sat back down. “Oh well, maybe a walk for some fresh air will do you good. We could walk and grab an ice cream if you’d like, I know a place.” He offered, concern filling his voice. "Do you want me to call you a cab or a friend?"

Sarah shook her head. “No, I don't want the date to be over yet. I like ice cream, I think I’d like to get some with you Ray. I am really enjoying getting to know you.” She said and she meant it too. Despite Liv's interruption and Sarah having to dash out, getting to know Ray had made her feel almost normal and she liked that feeling. 

"Ice cream it then," Ray replied offering her his arm.


	6. Issue #6 - Heist at Alcatraz Island

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ms. Bliss and the Villians finally put their plan into motion to take the nanotech from Alcatraz Island's research facility.

Becky was trying to concentrate, she had been trying to work in her research lab, but Liv was making it difficult. When Becky wasn't being Alcatraz or doing overwatch stuff for the rest of her heroic friends, she tried to maintain an actual day job. The research lab she worked at was also on the island, but behind a bunch of different security gates. The red-head wasn't actually sure how Victor Von Doom had convinced the state of California to allow him to have a research facility on Alcatraz Island, but somehow he had. While it was a Doom industries lab, Becky used it for her own research when she needed too. She hadn't provoked Doom's ire yet, so she seemed to be flying under the radar well enough. 

Liv incessant tapping and messing with Becky's lab equipment was starting to draw attention, which irritated Becky to no end. While Becky and Toni actually lived at Alcatraz Island with some caretakers and workers at the museum portion, Liv was supposed to still be living in the same apartment complex as Sarah. Though lately, Becky was starting to wonder if perhaps she should just give Liv her own room because the girl never left. 

"Hey Liv, don't you have something else to be doing right now?"

"Nope, what else would I be doing?" Liv asked giggling. She was sitting on one of the vacant lab stools and spinning around in it. The annoying creaking sound was starting to grate on Becky’s nerves. 

“Can you please stop?!” She finally snapped, unable to help it. She fixed Liv with a pointed look. “Isn’t there something more useful you could do, you could go patrol with Toni.” 

“Naaah. Toni doesn’t want my help, she is mad that Blizzard got away from me. Toni is out with Sarah right now and doesn't want me underfoot, those were her exact words” Liv said shaking her head.

Becky looked a bit skeptical, knowing Toni had probably used colorful language and Liv simply hadn't been paying attention. "Well can you please stop spinning around in your chair. I am trying to focus on my research." 

Liv gave a huffy sigh and managed to be quiet for all of about a minute before something caught her attention. The speedster glanced at the computer screen in front of her and tilted her head. “What this Na-...nanotech thing you’re working on?” 

Becky gritted her teeth and had to take a calming breath. She limped over to where Liv was sitting and pointed to one of the designs. “I am working on building a suit for myself so I can fast track my recovery. I won’t let what happened to me last time happen again.” 

“Do you miss being Alcatraz?” Liv asked quietly as she studied Becky. She quickly looked around to make sure none of Becky’s lab assistants or coworkers were close enough to hear her. “It must suck being on the sidelines. Are you worried you won’t be back to the hero you used to be?”

The question struck a nerve and Becky glared at Liv. “Do you always have to be so pesty? Go home Liv, or don’t go home, just leave my lab. I can’t work with your incessant chattering.” 

Liv frowned but got down from the stool. “I’m sorry.” She said looking like a kicked puppy. 

Becky’s face softened, but she still wanted Liv to leave her alone. “Just go check the perimeter okay? I need some time by myself, I have some serious work to do.” 

“Alright then, I’ll see you later,” Liv said making herself scarce. “Maybe I can go sell some pictures of me in costume. People love Daddy.” That seemed to cheer up the speedster and she quickly sped out of Becky’s lab, leaving a mess behind.

Looking around at the papers that now littered her floor, Becky just groaned. She wasn’t sure what was worse, that Liv insisting that her hero name be Daddy, or that Liv still made a habit of speeding out of rooms not caring about the mess left in her wake. 

The red-headed inventor didn’t feel like trying to bend over and clean everything up. She could see some of the other workers in the adjoining labs. When Becky had been hired as a scientist for Doom industries, she had selected a handful of research assistants, some of the smartest brains from the west coast to help her. Slowly limping to the other lab she cleared her throat. 

“Jamie, would you mind helping me out? I dropped some papers and my back is bothering me.” Becky said begging the shorter man to help her. 

Jamie Noble was a good man, he had one of the best minds for robotics that Becky had ever seen. He almost immediately went to her lab to help her, like most of the normal workers, he wasn’t aware that Becky was Alcatraz or that any of the people he saw like Liv, Sarah and Toni were heroes. Becky wasn’t sure if he was just oblivious or if they were actually that careful. 

While he was busy picking up the papers, Becky made sure to grab the black nanotech case that Doom had sent over. Becky had never met Doom in person, but she did her best to avoid pissing the psychotic man off. Becky quite liked keeping her head on her shoulders, before she would have welcomed a chance to take down an alleged bad guy, but now Becky was just thankful for her actual job. 

Becky figured that after she was done building her own suit, she could use the leftover technology and research to make something small enough for the boss to keep him off of Becky’s back. Becky did not want Victor Von Doom to coming to the West coast, that would be all bad news. 

The hero was about to sit back at her desk when an alert flashed across her screen. She quickly angled it away from Jamie and quickly typed in a command. Apparently there was a disturbance downtown so Becky pinged Viking and Storm Zero’s phones to let them know the address. Becky wasn’t sure what was going on, but she knew the duo could get it done, they had been a pretty good team so far. 

Jamie was giving her a curious look, but she ignored him and shot a tiny grin in his direction. “It’s time for me to get to work, thank you for your help, Jamie.” She said, beginning to open the black case.

Becky was hoping that this could lead to the breakthrough she needed to be able to run and fight crime like she used to. A weird feeling crossed Becky's mind and she shivered as a chill ran up her back. She glanced at the research lab door and then shook her head, ever since her accident she had been having weird vibes. Trying to clear her head, Becky glanced at her work and tried to focus once more. 

\----

Alexa Bliss checked her rose gold watch and threw a glance over her shoulder in the direction of the city. If everything went to plan then by the end of the night she would have all the nanotech she needed. She knew the other villains had been hesitant to work with her, but they had fallen inline just like she knew they would. 

Blizzard being captured and escaping custody had always been part of Alexa's plan. She had needed the woman to place a tracker on one of the heroes, which thankfully Nattie had been competent enough to do. Alexa had then ordered Bonemaster and Boom to go to separate parts of the city and start raising havoc and anarchy. With the heroes distracted Alexa could put the full extent of her plan into motion. 

With Circe at her side, Alexa had ridden the ferry over to Alcatraz Island and then the two women had hidden out until people were leaving for the day. There were lots of places to hide on the island and they were both shorter women, so it hadn't been that difficult. 

Alexa's phone buzzed once, letting her know that the plan was underway. Adam Cole had set off a few of his devices in an attempt to get San Francisco's heroes to come to help out. 

"It's showtime," Alexa whispered to Circe. Nikki Cross' gift was going to come in handy. 

Circe crept over to the security gate and used one of her sonic screams to fry the device. Alexa smirked as the gate slowly rolled open and she gestured for her associate to follow her. 

It took the pair a few minutes to find the entrance to the research labs, the labs were housed in the back where some old barracks were. They had been remodeled much like the rest of the island to have a new modern look. Alexa pulled a small black circular device from her purse and attached it to the doors, arming it. She gave a nod to Nikki and then they both stepped back. 

A few short seconds later the door to the labs blew off and Circe rushed in ahead of Alexa, ready to blast anybody still on their feet. Except that the two occupants of the room were already on the ground. 

"That was easy," Alexa muttered as she stepped inside. She sounded almost disappointed and in a way she was, she had expected more of a fight. She walked around to the other side of the table and lightly kicked at the body of a man, who didn't react. Alexa blinked in surprised, perhaps Boom's devices worked better than she thought. The lab was pretty much destroyed with computers, chairs, and tables littered all about. She hadn't meant to kill anybody, but sometimes that was just part of the collateral damage.

"Leave him alone..." 

Alexa turned and glanced at a redhead that was partially pinned under one of the heavy research tables. "He's already dead. Anyways maybe you can help me, I'm looking for some nanotech equipment." Alexa said smirking before she noticed the name tag on the injured girl's shirt. "Oh you're Becky Lynch, how unfortunate I was going to need your help, but it seems you're a little tied up at the moment." 

Becky glanced to where Jamie lay dead on the floor and then back to Alexa. The short woman didn't look like any criminal Becky had seen before, but the sick smile twisted Becky's insides just the same. "You have three seconds to leave before Alcatraz gets here." 

It was Nikki who laughed. "Last I heard Alcatraz was off licking her wounds, but if you see her let her know Circe wants to play." 

Becky struggled to try and push the table off of herself, it was heavy and she was still a bit dazed. 

Alexa watched Becky try and escape and rolled her eyes. "As touching as that is, we should be going. Circe, go find the technology." Alexa commanded as she began scouring through the wreckage looking for the nanotech.

"I think I found it," Nikki said holding up an opened black case, she clamped it shut and smirked. "It's heavier than you think." She was about to hand it over to Alexa when a blur came speeding into the room and knocked Alexa away and to the floor. 

Liv stood near Becky now with the case in her hands. "I suppose you're looking for this?" She asked wiggling the case. She saw Becky struggling to get out from under the table still and frowned. "Whatcha doing?"

Becky glared up at her. "Just hanging around, ya know.." She rolled her eyes, groaning as she finally managed to free herself. "Get the case out of here, they want-" Becky didn't get to finish her statement as Circe unleashed an ear-piercing scream right at Liv. 

The force of the scream knocked Liv through a glass window and to the outside. Circe glared after the speedster and snatched the case off the ground. She then helped Alexa to her feet. 

"Who even was that?" Circe asked, crinkling her nose in disgust.

"It doesn't matter, just another caped reject," Alexa muttered, taking the case from Nikki and making for the exit.

"Excuse me, I don't wear a cape!" Liv snapped as she sped back into the room. She had various cuts on her face from the glass and she looked pissed. "My name is Daddy and I'm here to stop you." She said striking a heroic pose.

The two villains exchanged looks, wondering if 'Daddy' was being serious. Circe raised a brow. "What kind of stupid name is that?" 

Liv stomped her foot on the ground petulantly. "It's not stupid." 

Alexa rolled her eyes so hard she was surprised they didn't fall out of her head. "Circe please handle this, kill her this time." 

Circe nodded and then used her sonic scream again, but this time she didn't stop until Liv was down on the ground. She kept screaming until the dumb hero stopped moving. 

"Stop, don't hurt her, I'll kill you! Stop I said!" Becky snapped, awkwardly struggling to get to her feet. She couldn't use her powers, because it would give away her identity, but Becky was also doubting how well they'd work. The fact that Liv was no longer moving either, terrified Becky to death. "You can't have that case, give it back!"

Alexa snorted in contempt. "Freeze really? I'll leave that to Blizzard, she sends her regards by the way. Tell Alcatraz we stopped by and that we killed her little pesky friends." Alexa said shoulder checking Becky as she pushed past her. 

Becky balled her fist and tried to swing at the back of Alexa's head, but she was met with a savage kick to the back by Circe which sent her sprawling to the ground in agony. Circe kept kicking at Becky's side and back, trying to beat the lab tech down so she wouldn't try and stop them. Alexa was pissed off now and pulled what looked to be a fine powder from a pouch at her hip. 

"Time to go to sleep, you're really starting to piss me off" Alexa whispered, before blowing the powder into Becky's face. "Come on Circe, let's get out of here. Let's hope Boom and Bonemaster took care of the other annoying heroes."


	7. Issues #7 - Fall out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fall out from the attack on Alcatraz Island, sprinkled with some Storm Zero backstory.

“Ow! Hey, could you please not drop me?” Sarah grumbled as Toni none-to-gently dropped her down on the sandy beach of Alcatraz Island. 

Toni glared at her as best she could through her black eye. “You weigh a freaking ton Viking. You’re lucky I carried you across the bay.” She muttered, landing more gracefully on the sand next to Sarah. That poise didn’t last long as the hero sagged down to her knees, completely drained of energy for the moment.

The pair of heroes had gotten their butts kicked, which for Toni was more unusual. Not only had they been tricked into an ambush of sorts, but they had each been jumped by more than one person. Toni had ordered Sarah to go after Blizzard, while she took care of Bonemaster. 

Bonemaster was enough of a challenge on his own, Toni wanted to defeat him to avenge what he had done to her mentor. She hadn’t forgotten how he had broken Becky’s back and neck, nor did she forget the countless nights of worrying that Becky wouldn’t survive. Coupled with the fact that Bonemaster was fighting alongside Boom, who kept trying to hit Toni with energy pulses. 

She had almost gotten the jump on him when she heard Sarah cry out in pain. Blizzard had led Viking into an alleyway and was jumping Sarah with the help of Boom’s cronies. That split second of distraction cost Toni. 

Bonemaster hit her right in the face with a trash can lid, sending her thudding backward against the nearby wall. Boom had gotten ready to strike her down when Bonemaster had stopped him. 

"Take a message back to Alcatraz for me Zero. Tell your little friend how easily I could have crippled you too. I doubt there's anything left of Alcatraz anyways" He let out a wicked laugh before he turned to Boom. "Come on."

Toni's head was throbbing still, she had barely managed to save Sarah and get them back to the island. Something that Bonemaster had said was worrying her. "We need to find Becky." 

"Hey...thank you for saving my bacon back there." Sarah didn't want to talk about how badly she had been losing. A group of thugs on a normal night wasn't so bad, but when that group of thugs all had abilities and training, Sarah found she wasn't up to snuff. 

Toni stared at her for a second. "Don't mention it, we lost the battle tonight, but not the war." She grabbed Sarah's forearm and yanked the girl up to her feet. She needed to get to Becky and make sure she was okay. 

Sarah had a few scrapes and bruises, but nothing that required any real attention. She allowed Toni to pull her up and then followed after the blonde. It was only when they got closer to Becky’s lab building, that they realized it was on fire.

“Crap.” Toni sprung into action, focusing her powers to try and suffocate the blaze before it spread to more of the buildings on the island. “Sarah, go inside and make sure Becky and Liv aren’t in there.” 

“Okay, I'll do that,” Sarah immediately obeyed Toni’s order, running into the burning lab building. It took her a moment to locate Liv and Becky in the smoky maze of hallway corridors. When she did finally locate them, she had to move a heavy chunk of ceiling off of them. Sarah then used her strength again to scoop them up, trying to carry them over her shoulder, while avoiding the blaze. 

She burst back out in the chilly San Francisco Bay air and dropped Liv at Toni’s feet while putting Becky down more gently. “She’s not breathing,” Sarah mumbled, nodding to Liv. While Sarah was concerned about Becky, their leader was breathing, but just unconscious. 

Toni stared down at Liv and raised two fingers to the sky summoning lightning before directing it at Liv’s body. Liv immediately jolted upright, vibrating in place as Toni kick-started her healing. 

“You’re awake, good. Get up, we need your help.” Toni said grabbing a handful of Liv’s shirt. “Make sure everybody is out of the building. You can do that a lot faster then Sarah can.” 

Liv looked completely disoriented. “What’s going on? What’s wrong with Alcatraz?” She asked stealing a look at Becky, who was being checked over by Sarah. 

“We have no time for this, Liv! Go!” Toni growled as thunder rumbled overhead. 

Startled, Liv gave a shaky nod and ran back into the burning building to make sure that everybody was out. She searched top to bottom, before running back into the room that held Jamie’s body. She hadn’t really talked to the lab tech but his family deserved a chance to say goodbye, so grabbing his jacket she tried to drag his body out of the building. 

Sarah rushed over to help her carry the body. “What happened here Liv? What happened to Jamie?” 

Liv couldn’t meet Sarah’s eyes, she felt like a horrible hero. “Becky had me doing a perimeter check. I didn’t know there were people on the island outside of us and Noble. I heard an explosion and went to check it out...There were people in Becky’s lab, Jamie was already dead. They had powers.” Liv shuddered, shaking her head. She had taken a lot of beating in her life, but the woman with the sonic scream had taken her out far too easily. 

Sarah wasn’t sure how to comfort Liv, she didn’t know how to be that sort of inspirational leader. “My papaw says all you can do is try your best. It’s not your fault.” Sarah said, though even she didn’t sound totally convinced. 

Toni who was checking on Becky frowned. “She needs a hospital or something… I can’t help her, not here. Take Becky somewhere safe and wait for me. The police are going to be on their way, I’ll handle them and then meet you guys somewhere. We need to regroup and figure out what the heck happened tonight.” 

“Where should we even go?” Sarah asked, cradling Becky’s limp body in her arms. 

“Probably somewhere nobody would expect,” Toni admitted, trying to think if they had any allies nearby. 

“Wait I have an idea!” Liv piped up. 

“Is it a stupid idea?” Toni asked arching a brow. 

Liv scowled at her. “I resent that.” She grumbled, before turning to Sarah. “Let’s take her to the animal lady. You know the one that patched me up, she might be able to help Becky.” 

Sarah hesitated but then shrugged. “Ruby’s not going to like that. It’s not the worst idea though.” She conceded. 

“If it’s safe then take her there. Send me the address and I’ll meet you there, now get going before the cops show up.” Toni said, tearing her gaze away from her allies. 

It hurt her to see Becky wounded again, it was giving her some serious flashbacks. She sank down into the sand near Jamie’s body, not wanting to watch Sarah and Liv leave with Becky. It was actually Becky who had taught her to try and put her emotions aside and do what was best for the city. Her mentor had always been the one to look out for her.

\-----  
 _  
-San Francisco, 2012. The Chitauri Invasion-_

_Toni Rosall at seventeen had figured once she got old enough life would get better for her. She had thought she’d make something of herself, that her life would be different. San Francisco was supposed to be a sanctuary city, one that welcomed everybody. Truly people were welcome but most of them just ended up homeless in Golden Gate Park. They became the lost masses, forgotten amongst the throngs of people that inhabited the city. All that glittered definitely wasn’t gold in Toni’s opinion._

_The other homeless and displaced people in the park had taken to calling her Toni Storm, due to the perpetual storm cloud that followed her around. She was a sulky teen back then, struggling to keep herself alive on the streets, living amongst the other poor teens in the park. Thankfully the homeless people in the park formed a sort of community and looked out for each other. Toni didn’t really have anybody else outside of them. She couldn’t really remember her family, most of those memories she had suppressed. All she had was the park and the people in it._

_She had been resting against one of the trees when the sky above the park opened up. Horrible weather wasn’t anything new to Toni, she had witnessed more fog and nasty storms since moving to the Bay area city. She wasn’t expecting the aliens though, San Francisco had a lot of weird things, but not space aliens._

_Then the aliens had begun to attack, hundreds of creatures seemed to pour out of a hole in the sky. Toni had never seen anything like it before and just like the others in the park she had been paralyzed in fear. It was only the arrival of Alcatraz, and the hero’s frantic scream that everybody needed to evacuate the park, that got Toni to start moving._

_Alcatraz fought harder than anybody Toni had ever seen. The hero was almost like a blur, as she webbed people together, agile moving from creature to creature. Most people in the city at least knew of Alcatraz, with the red and black suit she was easy to spot. So many bad guys had been put in jail thanks to all the hard work that the web-slinger had done. Toni had never met the hero in person, Alcatraz rarely got close enough for people to talk to her, but Toni wanted too. She wanted to be able to help people or learn enough self-defense that she didn’t have to worry about being on the streets._

_Toni was awestruck and partially distracted by the masked hero, which on that fateful day cost her. She tripped over an aboveground tree root and fell. She had to scramble out of the way to avoid being trampled by everybody else in the park. Toni hadn’t noticed that some of the alien creatures were almost on her until they were only a couple feet away. Alcatraz was too far away to even come to her aid, clear on the other side of the park._

_Something snapped in Toni as her brained flashed with the thought that she was going to die at that moment. She was really going to die as some homeless teenager, murdered by a fricken alien. Thunder had rumbled in the distance and it began to rain hard, all around the park. Toni’s eyes had darkened and she balled her fist at her side, if she was going to die, then she resolved to bring as many aliens with her as possible._

_The aliens were looking confused by the sudden change of weather, but it didn’t matter to Toni. She didn’t know how she was doing it, but she focused on the fog and pulled it towards herself. The thickness of the fog cloud seemed to blanket the park, making it harder for everybody to see. Then Toni did probably the stupidest thing she could have done, she ran straight at the biggest one. She swung at the alien, but before Toni’s fist even made contact, lightning shot through her hitting the alien creature and knocking it back into its friends._

_It had been the weirdest feeling, Toni felt like her skin had been electrified and yet it was the most alive she had ever felt. Even though she hadn’t been sure how to use her powers, she had done what she could to help Alcatraz. They had worked as a team that day and later Becky had brought Toni on as her protege, giving her a sense of purpose that she hadn’t had before.  
_  
\----

-Presently-

Becky had taught her how to be a real hero and when Becky disappeared during the five years after the snap, Toni had filled in for her mentor. Storm Zero had stepped out of Alcatraz’s shadow, helping the Avengers and other heroes try and police the world. It felt nice to be considered a top-tier hero but Toni had been relieved when Becky had come back. The five years had created a bit of a gap between them though. Becky was no longer as warm to her and Toni really had no idea why. 

After the whole incident with Bonemaster had gone down, things had gotten worse before they got better. Toni had been the one to find Becky and save her, which only fueled Becky’s resentment. It had taken four months after the accident before her mentor would even look at her. That’s why Toni was so dead set on bringing Bonemaster to justice, she just wanted her friendship and closeness with Becky to go back to the way it was before.

In the distance, Toni could see what looked like the police finally arriving on Alcatraz Island. She stood to her feet and brushed the sand off of her clothes. “Good evening Gentleman, I assume you’re here for my statement.”

As the 'police' got closer, Toni realized that it wasn't just the police, but also other government agencies. "Wait, you're not the police."

"No, we are with S.H.I.E.L.D." A brunette woman said, stepping away from the men and directly in front of Toni. The woman stole a glance at Jamie's dead body and the still smoking lab building. "You have some explaining to do, Storm Zero."

\-----------------------------

Ruby Riott was irritated. 

No, irritated didn’t even cover what she felt, standing naked in front of a bunch of strangers, in her own house. 

After a long day at work, checking on animals and making sure they were comfortable, she had just wanted to come home. She had dinner cooking in the oven, Netflix queued up. She had turned on some relaxing music and was just sinking into a hot bubble bath, to decompress from her day when Liv happened. 

If Ruby had thought she was free of the superpowered freaks she was sorely mistaken. Because one second she was in her bathroom, eyes closed, relaxing in her tub and the next she was standing naked and dripping wet in her living room. 

“You didn’t think to grab her a towel?” Sarah asked, glaring at Liv.

“Everybody's a critic,” Liv grumbled, before disappearing and reappearing instantly with a towel that she threw at Ruby. 

Ruby didn’t want to open her eyes, didn’t want to confirm her worst fears. She kept her eyes closed until she wrapped the towel around herself. “Please tell me, you two idiots are not in my house.” 

Sarah shifted awkwardly. “We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t an emergency.” She stepped to the side revealing Becky laying on Ruby’s kitchen table. 

“I resent being called an idiot. Why are all of you so frickin mean?” Liv grumbled, folding her arms across her chest. 

Ruby ignored Liv and glared at Sarah. “What is with you bringing people to my apartment? I am not some free clinic and not to mention I work on animals, you dimwit. I am not a doctor for people.” 

Nevertheless, Ruby walked over and checked Becky out. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but for some reason, Becky looked sort of familiar. Ruby tried to push that thought away and began examining her. 

“She has some broken ribs, she’s not breathing very well. What happened to her?” Ruby asked, before shaking her head. “Never mind, I don’t want to know. Look she needs a real doctor.” 

Sarah frowned and shook her head. “We can’t take her to an actual doctor. Can you bandage her up or something, give her a pain pill or two?”

“This isn’t ethical, also I am in a towel. For heroes, you do a lot of breaking and entering.” Ruby didn’t really want to help them. 

“That’s what she said,” Liv said smugly, snickering for a second before deflating at the nasty look the other two women shot her way. “Oh come on, that was funny.” 

“Actually it wasn’t.” Becky breathed out as she tried to sit up. She was finally coming around and she was in a lot of pain. “Where are we?”

“We are at a friend’s house, don’t worry,” Sarah said, moving to Becky’s side. “You’re safe.” 

Ruby rolled her eyes and scoffed. “We aren’t friends. I don't even really know you and I definitely don't know those two.” 

Sarah clicked her tongue at Ruby. “Come on, don't be so difficult. You saved the life of everybody in here at least once.” 

Ruby was furious at this point. “I saved your life because you were about to die, but I am starting to regret it. I saved these two because you broke into my apartment! Twice!!” Ruby snarled, wanting to punch Sarah in the face. 

“Hey, you were the one who saved me,” Liv said, recalling the memory. “I owe you one.” 

“If you want to pay me back, then get out of my apartment. I don’t want any part of this, whatever trouble you’re in… it’s not my problem.” Ruby said icily. She tightened her towel around herself, her cheeks still as red as her name.

“She’s right, we shouldn’t have come here,” Becky said, struggling to get off of the table. Her back was killing her, but she managed to stay on her feet. “This isn’t your problem ma’am. Let’s go.” 

The trio of heroes made it to the door, but as Liv opened it, waiting on the other side was Toni and an official-looking woman. Neither of them looked particularly happy, Toni seemed more like a reprimanded child, pouting next to her mom. 

“I hate to interrupt, but I need to have a word with all of you.” The brunette next to Toni said. 

“They were just leaving,” Ruby said, wanting everybody out of her apartment. “I am not with them, or a part of whatever it is that they did.” 

The brunette looked at each of their faces, before settling on Ruby. “I guess I wasn’t clear enough. I need to talk to all of you, including you Ruby.”

“How do you know my name?” Ruby asked, looking a bit startled. 

“Forgive me for not introducing myself, my name is Maria Hill. Director of Shield. You’re coming with me, it’s not optional. Now get dressed Ruby and come on.”


	8. Issue #8 - All aboard the helicarrier.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The San Francisco team has to deal with some awkward questions from the director of Shield herself. Director Maria Hill isn't happy and neither is the team.

“You’ve not only lost control over your city Ms. Lynch, but I think you’ve also lost the respect of the hero community.”

Becky tried to stay still as the director of Shield yelled at them, except she could see Liv randomly appearing in different spots, touching just about everything on the helicarrier. It wasn’t funny but after surviving the attack and having her home destroyed, Becky had had enough. So as Maria Hill ripped her a new one, Becky began to laugh. 

“You think this is funny?” Maria asked, her eyes widening in anger. “I expected better from you of all people Alcatraz.”

“I’m sorry, I am really sorry.” Becky got out between fits of giggles. “I know this is serious and it’s not funny, but where the heck has shield been the last year? I almost died and none of you even came to visit.” 

Maria’s eyes twitched. “I saw you in the hospital, you were unconscious, but it was best to keep a professional distance.”

“Oh screw your professional distance. I’ve been doing everything I can to protect the city I care about. I establish a team and yeah they’re rough around the edges, but at least I have boots on the ground.” Becky was furious now, her laughter dying on her lips. 

Toni placed a hand on Becky’s elbow trying to calm her down. “I think what Alcatraz means is that we’re trying our best.”

Becky glared at Toni and jerked her arm away. “I know what I was trying to say, I am not a child.”

“This is exactly what I am talking about.” Maria snapped pointing between the two of them. “Yor team is dysfunctional Lynch. When it was just you two we didn’t care, but then you brought Viking in. We turned our heads and allowed it. But now you have a speedster who is too busy stealing things to actually make a difference, and a shapeshifter who doesn’t even believe in your cause.” 

Liv appeared in front of Maria. “Hey boss lady, I only steal from the bad guys.” 

“Stealing is still a crime and what’s with the stupid code name. Nobody wants to call you daddy.” Maria snapped, shaking her head in disgust. “If Fury was here right now, he’d be throwing you in a dark hole somewhere and making sure the key was never found.” 

Ruby scowled at the director. “Listen here, I may not be part of their team but I didn’t save their lives so you could threaten them.” She stood up and got in Maria Hill’s face. If Ruby was scared of the fact that there were now multiple guns pointed at her, she didn’t show it. “I may not want to even be a hero, but I saved them because they’re at least trying to do something. You don’t have a lot of people who are willing to stand up and do the right thing, so maybe you should spend less time criticizing and more time thanking them.” 

Maria slowly arched a brow, surprised to have gotten such a rise out of Ruby. “I am going to talk with each of you privately. Things can’t continue the way that they have been, but perhaps your tattooed friend has a point.” She said finally backing down a little bit, she raised a hand and waved to her people to lower their guns.

“I knew you liked us, Ruby,” Sarah said, looking a bit smug. 

“Don’t make me regret it,” Ruby grumbled.

“Well since you’re so bold, we’ll start with you,” Maria said motioning for Ruby to follow her. “We have some questions to ask you.” 

\-----

“So your name is Ruby?”

Ruby had thought that Maria Hill was going to interview her, but apparently, she was wrong. Instead, a knock-off agent Hill named Agent Eve Torres was interviewing her. 

“Yeah, but you already knew that,” Ruby said resting both of her hands on the table in front of her. “Look I don’t really have anything to do with this whole hero business. I patched up a few of them, but it was kind of against my will.” 

Agent Torres just nodded and scribbled some notes down. “Against your will, I’ll make a note of that. If you don’t see yourself as a hero, what do you see yourself as?”

Ruby thought about it for a moment and then shrugged. “I am just a person who is trying to help animals. I don’t think there’s really anything more to it than that.”

“You have the ability to turn into animals. How do you intend to use your powers going forward? I assume you could use them for evil, but that doesn’t seem in character for you.” Eve asked, locking eyes with Ruby. 

Ruby frowned and shrugged. “I try not to use my powers unless I have too. I use them to help talk to and treat the animals I work with, but otherwise, I have no real interest in being a hero.” 

“What if your city needed you. Having a hero who has these powers could prove to be useful. Would you really let your city down by not using your gifts?” Eve was intentionally pushing her buttons now. She wanted to see how Ruby would react to these types of questions. 

“I don’t let my city down, I help animals that are important to the world and the city. I’ve saved the lives of their top heroes. I am helpful.” Ruby said, not allowing the agent to push her around. She was willing to stand firm and hold her ground. 

Eve wrote her answer down and then leaned back in her chair. “How do you feel about Alcatraz, Storm Zero and the others?” 

“I don’t really know them all that well. Viking keeps breaking into my house, but I mean aside from that, I guess I appreciate them protecting the city.” Ruby didn’t quite understand where Agent Torres was going with this. 

“Would you follow them into battle if they needed the help. Would you trust them to lead you?” Eve asked fixing Ruby with a stare. 

Ruby had to think about that one. It was one thing to say that she’d follow them, but she wasn’t sure if she would or not. “I think if they were fighting for a worthy cause, I’d probably follow them. Trust is earned, so I can’t say for certain one way or another.” 

Eve scribbled down that answer as well, before standing up. “Thank you for your candor Ms. Riott. That will be all.”

“Are you not going to ask about how I got my powers?” Ruby was actually surprised, she had expected more of an interrogation. 

“You forget we have a working relationship with Wakanda now. We know about your talisman and your childhood accident where you were poisoned. The people from Wakanda saved you and now you can transform. We’re in the business of knowing things Ms. Riott, we have an index we keep powered people on, you aren’t as under the radar as you may thing.” Eve gave her a smug look and then left Ruby alone in the room gaping after her.

\-----

“So why Viking as a code name?”

Sarah stared at Eve and then shrugged, a happy smile on her face. “I don’t know, I like Vikings. My papaw says you should always embrace your interest.” 

“You grew up in Kentucky, isn’t that right?” Eve asked as she flipped through Sarah’s file. “It says here you are super strong and durable, do you have any other powers?”

“Ma’am, if you’re going to talk to me and ask me these questions, maybe you should look me in the eyes,” Sarah advised, folding her hands in her lap. “I did grow up in Kentucky and I do have powers. I use them to help the city of San Francisco.” 

Eve met Sarah’s gaze and nodded. “Out of your group, you seem to be the one who is most consistent. Though Ms. Riott did mention that you continually break into her apartment.” 

“It’s for a good reason, we need her help. She’s really smart and good at patching people up.” Sarah protested, not liking that Ruby had thrown her under the bus, but she wasn’t angry. 

“Do your family members know about your secret identity? What about your new boyfriend?”

Sarah stood to her feet then. “Look ma’am I don’t like when people threaten my family. I’d advise you to leave my boyfriend out of this, bringing them up makes me angry.” 

“I’ve dealt with Bruce Banner, I am sure I could handle you,” Eve replied as she rolled her eyes. “You’re not that big of a threat, now about your family…”

Sarah snatched the pen from Eve, snapping it and then threw it to the opposite side of the room. “I said don’t bring them up. This conversation is over.” With that Sarah left the room, not even giving Eve time to react.

\----

“So your powers are a recent thing, it says in your file that you often work for your brother, helping him steal wallets. I would imagine your powers make that easier to do now.” Maria Hill had saved Liv’s interview for herself. 

Liv nervously tapped her fingers on the table, playing a little drum beat with them. “I don’t use my powers to steal from tourists anymore.” 

“But you do still use it to steal?” Maria pressed, the director of Shield clearly wanted to get to the bottom of Liv’s loyalties. “Why did you agree to aid Viking and the others, because you don’t seem to take it seriously.” 

“Sarah saved my life, I felt like I owed it to her to try and be better,” Liv said plainly. 

“Do you actually want to be a hero or are you doing this out of an obligation?” 

Liv frowned at her. “Does it matter? I’ve never had a choice before, it doesn’t seem like I have one now. Nothing I do is ever good enough for anybody, but yet I’m still here trying.” 

“So you feel inadequate then?” Maria was pushing buttons, trying to figure out who the real Liv Morgan was. As the director of SHIELD, she had a file on everybody, but it felt kind of flat compared to the people standing in front of her. “Do you think that feeling started in childhood, growing up without a father in the picture?” 

“You get off on this, don’t you? Making people feel inadequate? Look I am not a shining beacon of goodness, but I take care of the people I care about. Yeah I’m a loser and I use inappropriate humor too much, but I’d run through fire for those girls in there.” Liv growled at Maria. 

“Storm Zero said you had a problem with authority, you would risk your own life for her?” 

Liv’s eye twitched a little bit. “Toni is a piece of work, but she’s part of the team. She’s mine to love or to hate if anybody else messed with her and I’d rip their hearts out without a second thought. That goes for you, don’t screw with my girls and you watched the way you talk to Becky or else.” Liv warned a serious look on her face for once. 

“You’re loyal, I can appreciate that Ms. Morgan, but when it comes down to the wire, remember who you’re loyal too,” Maria said, before waving Liv away. “You’re dismissed.” 

“Rude,” Liv muttered under her breath, but she got up anyway. When she walked out of the interrogation room, she found the others sitting around a table. 

Becky had a pained look on her face, Toni was nearby clearly wanting to hep Becky but not risking making the older girl mad. “How did it go Liv?” Toni asked, tilting her head to the side. 

“Well, I’m not in jail or some black site.” Liv pointed out, shifting her attention to Sarah and Ruby. “I just want to go home.” 

“You’ll be taken home soon. I’ve decided to give you one more chance. You made a mess and I’ll allow you the chance to clean it up. You find Bliss and you take back the tech she stole, it shouldn’t be that hard right?” Maria Hill asked, her eyes narrowing in on Toni and Becky in particular. 

It was Ruby who spoke up. “So if we find Bliss and the tech you’ll leave us alone?” She really didn't want the other heroes or Shield showing up outside her door anymore. So that actually sounded like a reasonable request. 

“I’ll have no reason to come knocking on your doorstep again if you do as your told. Playing by the rules has benefits for all of you. If you don’t clean up your messes, I’ll send somebody to do it for you.” Maria snapped, before turning to look at her assistant. “Eve, please escort them off my ship, but before you do. Take Ms. Lynch to medical, I think we might have some meds that could be of interest to her and her injuries.” 

Becky scowled after the director, hating the way the agent could make her feel. Becky wasn’t a big fan of admitting that she needed help, but her back was hurting. She knew something needed to change with the way she was protecting the city. “I don’t need your help.” 

Maria’s eyes flashed in anger. “Apparently you do, you can barely function due to your injuries. You’re trying to train a speedster and you can’t even stand for more than thirty minutes. I don’t think you’re taking me serious Alcatraz, so to prove to you just how serious I am, you can expect an old friend to be stopping by. Morgan could use some proper training from somebody who knows what they’re doing.” The director said, before gesturing to Eve. She wanted the heroes off her helicarrier as soon as possible.


	9. Issue #9 - Things do not go as expected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alexa Bliss and Nikki have to deal with a double-cross. Becky and Liv both turn to unlikely allies for help and comfort. Ruby, Sarah, and Toni try to process all the crap they've been through.

**-The Villains-**

Alexa Bliss was smug, no smug wasn’t even the right word for how the former small-time drug dealer was feeling. She had set out to take Alcatraz down and she had done it. She had done what the other chumps in the town had been trying to do for years. She was so over the patriarchal crap that they had been trying to pull, she had kicked the door down to their little boy’s club and was now perched on top of her metaphorical throne like the queen she was. 

“Show it to me,” Alexa instructed looking at Circe. Nikki Cross nodded and opened the briefcase that contained the stolen tech and offered it up to Alexa. 

“What are you going to do with it?” Nikki asked, curious as to what Alexa’s big plan was. If she knew anything, it was that Alexa always had a plan of some kind. 

“I am going to make myself a perfect suit out of this nanotech. I know Doom industries were working on their own replica of an Iron Man suit. So maybe I can make myself something like that.” Alexa said with a proud smile. She glanced at her watch, her smile slowly fading. “Where are they?” 

Alexa and Nikki were supposed to be having a meeting with Boom, Blizzard, Bonemaster. But the villains hadn’t shown up yet, and Alexa was starting to get angry. Something didn’t feel right, but Alexa couldn’t put her finger on it. She started to get up when a searing pain shot through her, forcing her to be still. 

Blizzard and Bonemaster slowly picked their way through the door, but Boom was nowhere in sight. Pete Dunne looked particularly threatening as he squeezed his hand, the pain in Alexa’s body spiking. Alexa had never experienced pain like this before, it was crippling and yet almost painful enough that she almost blacked out.

Nikki seemed to realize what was happening and turned to unleash a sonic scream, but Nattie hit her right in the face with an icy blast. The blast sent her crashing back into the wall, Nikki's skull hitting the ground hard.

“What are you doing?” Alexa choked out slowly, stunned by their betrayal. 

“Boom says we can’t kill you, but he didn’t say anything about us hurting you,” Pete said, his voice slick and far too smooth for the threatening he was doing. 

Alexa watched in horror as the ice began to solidify over Nikki’s mouth, making it so that the metahuman wouldn’t be able to breathe. “Stop.” She pleaded softly, slowly flicking her gaze towards where the briefcase lay. “Take it, just let her go. Take the briefcase.” 

Blizzard looked amused by Alexa’s display of submission. “Well look at that, guess you do have a weakness after all Bliss.” She condescendingly patted Alexa on the head and snagged the briefcase. 

Bonemaster just snarled at Alexa, hitting her hard enough to knock her out. He then turned to Nattie. “Let’s get out of here Blizzard, I think our associate is going to be waiting for us.” 

"I was expecting them to put up more of a fight, how disappointing." Nattie mused as she handed over the briefcase to Pete. She followed him out of the room, leaving the two Busch league villains in the rubble. 

Nikki was shivering by the time the ice finally melted, making it so she could breathe again. She slowly crawled over to Alexa and dragged the smaller girl into her lap. “Come on, we gotta move before Boom comes for us.” She whispered, her words broken up by the chattering of her teeth. 

\------

**-Becky-**

Becky’s hand was trembling as she used it to steady herself against the cool marble gravestone. Director Maria Hill had made a pitstop for her, dropping her off at the Stark family cabin. Of course, the rest of the San Francisco hero team had been sent back to the Bay Area, the city needed protecting. Hill’s sharp words had stung Becky, but they had also put a lot of things into perspective for the injured hero. 

Becky had powers, the type people would kill for, and yet she had let a broken back and neck get her down and out. For the better part of a year, she had stayed on the sidelines and moped, while leaving the hard tasks to Toni. Worse than that she hadn’t even fully supported Toni when the girl needed her, which Becky now realized was not the best course of action. 

“I don’t know what to do Stark. I wish you were here. I don’t even know what I’m doing anymore.” Becky whispered, tracing the words on the stone. Ironman had always been a handful, but he had pushed Becky to be the best hero and inventor she could be. Whenever she had a crazy project idea, he had been the one willing to sit down and talk it through with her. 

“He didn’t know what he was doing either half the time. He kind of chose the route of faking it until he made it.” 

Becky spun around startled by the appearance of Pepper Potts. The sudden action caused her body to rebel and she felt her knees threaten to give out. Wincing Becky, grabbed onto Tony’s grave marker, desperate to keep herself upright. 

“Hey Pep, you scared me,” Becky said, flashing a weak smile. She hated the way people stared at her now like they thought she might break apart at any second. 

“I can see that,” Pepper said, concern flickering through her eyes. Becky was thankful that the CEO of Stark Industries didn’t ask the obvious question that she wanted to. Instead, Pepper nodded to the grave. “I was sad not to see you at the funeral.” 

Becky swallowed hard, blinking away the tears. “I was a bit busy trying to get my city under control. It didn’t go so well.” That was part of the reason, the other being that she really sucked at goodbyes.

Pepper just let out a soft hum and moved to put some fresh flowers on Tony’s grave. “I think after he died a lot of people were forced to learn to live without his protective shadow. He deserves some rest though, he worked hard and now it’s everybody else’s turn to hold down the fort.” 

“I wish he was here Pepper. I feel like I’m failing on a daily basis, ever since I got hurt I’ve been trying to be prepared, trying to keep everybody safe and it’s not working.” Becky sighed and deflated against the headstone. Despite Maria Hill having the helicarrier staff give her a pain shot, her back was still hurting. “I made myself a nano suit from Doom Technology. I thought that maybe if I had a suit I could be a real hero again and my injuries wouldn’t hold me back anymore.”

“A suit isn’t what makes you a hero Becky, your powers don't make you a hero either. It’s what’s on the inside, the parts of you that make you still want to defend a city even when it turns on you. You do the best that you can, that’s all anybody ever can expect. Anything more than that is just a burden. Look I don’t have any magic words that will fix everything, but how about you come in for a sandwich. I was just going to make Morgan one.” Pepper offered, knowing deep down Becky needed a friend more than anything else. 

Becky ran her fingers over her former mentor's grave and nodded. "Yeah, that sounds nice. I'd love to see Morgan, I don't think I've met her yet." She said, following Pepper inside of the spacious cabin. She made a mental note to get in touch with Helios, maybe seeing an old friend like Director Hill had suggested was the right way to go.

\----  
 **-Liv-**

While the others had been dropped off back in San Francisco, Liv had been asked to remain behind for a little bit. Director Hill had asked her to stay with them for a little bit and meet somebody who actually knew a thing or two about being fast. That was how Liv ended up in a sort of training simulation room with Yo-Yo Rodriguez, better known by her alias of Slingshot. 

Liv was once again running on a treadmill, letting Hill and her associates run a few different tests. She still didn’t like Maria Hill very much, but at least now she was being treated like an adult and not like a burden as she had been with the rest of the heroes in San Francisco. 

“Why do they call you Slingshot?” Liv asked, not even slowing down on the treadmill. 

Yo-Yo merely smiled and to everybody else in the room, she barely moved. However, thanks to Liv’s powers she saw Yo-Yo sprint around the room a couple of times, tie everybody’s shoes together and then returned to her starting point. It was over in a mere second or two to everybody else, but the metahuman looked rather amused. 

“So you always have to return to your starting spot?” Liv continued to question, not even breaking a sweat as the techs sped up her treadmills. She was starting to feel a little bored with the whole testing thing. 

Yo-Yo glanced at the treadmills, an eyebrow slowly rising as she evaluated Liv’s speed. “Yeah, it’s why I got the nickname Yo-yo, I always come back to my starting spot.” 

“Couldn’t somebody just predict that and then set a trap?” Liv was fascinated by the other girl’s powers, and she could see why the director of SHIELD had wanted them to meet. 

“I suppose they could, but I tend to move faster than they can think. Clearly, I am not the fastest, but I am faster than most.” Yo-Yo replied, before crossing her metal arms over her chest. “There have been times I have been too slow, but I pride myself on being intelligent as well.” 

Liv finally hit the stop button on the treadmill, mostly because she was bored with the tests. She had never been good at staying still and running on a treadmill felt torturous. She stopped in front of the SHIELD agent and smirked. 

“Do you maybe want to race, we could see who is fastest.” Liv offered. 

“You’d win, I already know you’re faster Morgan. Come on let’s go get something to eat, you must be starving.” Slingshot gestured for Liv to follow her and led the way into the helicarrier’s cafeteria. 

Liv’s eyes widened as she looked around, it reminded her a little bit of a high school cafeteria. “Whoa, maybe I should join up with you guys.” 

Slingshot gave her a curious look and shook her head. “I don’t think this place would be a good fit for you. You seem like the type of woman who likes to be free to run and roam, you wouldn’t get that here. Besides from what I’ve heard you’re still learning about your powers, you need room to do that. If you want to be a part of Shield, you’re going to need to be crisp with your powers and you’re not there yet.” Slingshot said though she kept her voice kind. She really didn’t think Liv was the type of person who would thrive in a strict and rigid environment. 

"Yeah, you're probably right," Liv said a bit dejectedly. There was a piece of her that was desperate to find a place that she could fit in at. 

Yo-Yo put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, if you still want to be part of us in a year, then I'll put in a good word for you. Now let's put some food inside of you, Hill wanted me to talk to you about some things." 

"Is it boring stuff?" Liv asked with a pout. 

"Probably to you, but it's necessary. So that's why I said, let's eat first. It'll make you less angry about the stuff I'm going to tell you." Slingshot replied wanting to soften Liv up before she told her the rules that Maria Hill was going to try and impose on Liv and the rest of the San Francisco heroes. 

\-----

**\- Riott, Storm Zero, Viking -**

Ruby let out a heavy sigh as she unlocked the door to her apartment. She glanced over her shoulder at Sarah and Toni, before stepping aside to let them in. She knew Sarah had her own place to stay but with Alcatraz Island in disarray, Toni really didn’t have any place to go. 

“You guys can stay if you want. I don’t really have an extra room but you can have the couch or whatever.” Ruby said, pointing to her sofa. “It has a pull out bed.” 

Toni gave a grateful nod and sat down on the couch, tired from the long day. She was still mulling over what had happened on the island as well as the verbal backhand from SHIELD. Toni wasn’t exactly used to being told that she was doing a horrible job, she hadn’t felt this low since being homeless in Golden Gate Park. 

Sarah was fiddling with her phone texting Ray. She didn’t know how to tell him where she had been, so she had made up an excuse about being sick. She really liked him and there was a piece of her that was scared to put him in the way of danger. 

“What are we going to do about the technology that was stolen?” Ruby asked, cutting to the chase. She had been deadset against trying to be a hero, but she could recognize that she needed to use her powers for good. “Do we have a plan or are we just going to wait for Alcatraz and Liv to show back up before we strategize?” 

“Becky tends to get mad if we act without consulting her,” Toni said, sounding almost resentful of that. She didn’t want to step on her mentor’s toes, but she wasn’t the teenager that Becky had rescued anymore. She had become a full-fledged hero in her own right while Becky had blimped away. Toni didn’t appreciate that Alcatraz was treating her like a sidekick again. 

Sarah ran a hand through her hair and sighed. “Look we have to get the tech back from Bliss. If we don’t it could fall into worse hands. We clearly don’t want that, but if we’re going to get that tech back we need to work as a team. So I’m open to suggestions.” 

“Even if we could capture Bliss and Circe at this point, where would we even take them? Our base of operations got blown up.” Toni mused allowed, trying to think of a strategy. 

“Before it’s suggested, because I know somebody is going to suggest it, we are not keeping it here. My apartment is off-limits for hero operations.” Ruby interjected quickly.

Sarah blinked and looked around Ruby’s apartment, wanting to desperately point out that they were technically using Ruby’s place for hero work right then. She managed to keep her mouth shut though, not wanting to piss off the tattooed shape-shifter. “My apartment is in the ghetto and not a good place either.” 

“I’m having to literally sleep on your couch, I don’t have a place either,” Toni replied, before burying her face in her hands. SHIELD hadn’t offered them any options and it would be a while before Alcatraz Island was up and running again. 

“Maybe we should call it a night and just regroup somewhere tomorrow?” Ruby said, barely biting back a yawn. She was exhausted and by the looks on their faces, her teammates were as well. “I have work tomorrow at the animal sanctuary, but maybe we can meet up afterward.”

“Yeah, I have work tomorrow too. Plus I kind of blew off my plans with Ray tonight, so I need to get going. Maybe I’ll bring him a pizza before I head home.” Sarah wanted her relationship to work out. Being with him gave her a feeling of normalcy and made her feel happy. 

Ruby nodded and walked her taller friend to the door. “Text us and let us know you got home safely. I think Toni would probably worry if you didn’t.” She said, trying to play off her own feelings of concern. 

When Ruby turned back around she found Toni dozing and snoring lightly on the couch. Ruby grabbed a throw blanket and covered the blonde up with it, tucking her in before walking to her bedroom. She didn’t plan on caring for the other heroes, but despite herself, she found that she could relate to them. They reminded her of a lot of the wild animals that she worked with.

“Good night Storm Zero,” Ruby whispered, turning off the light before going into her room. She ran her fingers over the totem at her throat and sighed before shifting into a large panther. She curled up in her bed, keeping an ear out in case somebody tried to break in. Ruby didn’t want anybody hurting her new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's been about a month, but I lost my spark for a bit. Lots of things have been happening, but I'm back. So enjoy this chapter, I even wrote a tiny bit of the next chapter as well. So I at least have an idea of where I want to go. If you're enjoying this story, be sure to check out the other stories in this series, as well as my other works. 
> 
> Thank you for all the views, kudos and comments. I have the best readers. <3
> 
> Also shout out to my wwe writer buddies on discord. They are literally the best and I love them so much. They write so many great stories. I couldn't do it without my squad.


	10. Issue #10 New digs who dis? Aka Helios comes to town pt1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Becky has a surprise for the team and invites an old friend to town to help her whip the team into shape.

“Do you know why she told us to meet her here?” Sarah asked, looking to Toni for clarification since after Becky she was the next in the chain of command. They had all received a text message from Becky, telling them all to meet her at a location in the middle of the city, though none of them seemed to know why. After the while beatdown by Bliss and Circe, and then getting reprimanded by SHIELD they were all still sulking and licking their wounds. 

“I haven’t talked to her in like a week. Becky’s been off the grid, she said she needed some space.” Toni said, with a shrug. She had texted Becky, but Alcatraz had been leaving her on seen. It had irritated Toni, but she knew better than to react negatively. 

Liv who was speed-reading through a bunch of comic books shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe she wants to fire us all. I wouldn’t blame her, we’ve kind of been sucking lately.”

Sarah scowled at that. “We haven’t been sucking, just a bit down on our luck.” She protested, though if she was being honest she could understand why Becky might actually decide to do just that and fire them all. 

“We’re like F-Level avengers.” Liv pointed out, before shrugging. “Toni might be a C-Level. Her powers are at least cooler than ours.” 

Toni grimaced a little. “I can’t really argue with that.” She glanced at Ruby who was just standing there watching them argue. “You don’t have anything to say?” 

Ruby ran a hand through her hair, before glancing at the building. It was multiple stories tall, and she had no doubt it was the type of building that would have a helipad at the top. “I doubt she is going to fire us, my best guess is that she’s probably bought this building for a new base, considering your last one blew up. Alcatraz the superhero living on Alcatraz island was a little too on the nose.” She felt odd being the voice of reason, but the others seemed to willing to pick each other apart and devolve into chaos.

Sarah blinked and glanced from Ruby and then at the building. “That’s actually a good point.” Now that she was looking at the building with new eyes, it made sense that the building could be a new base. 

“A point that Ms. Riott is correct in,” Becky said as she gingerly made her way out of the building. She was leaning a bit heavily on a cane, a look of pain etched in her face. Becky was happy to just be up on her feet. “This building was gifted to us for use by the Stark Estate. The CEO of Stark Industries is an old friend and thought that we could set up a new base of operations here.” 

“So like a knock-off Avengers tower?” Sarah asked looking to Becky for understanding. 

“We are gonna be like the west coast Avengers,” Liv announced, clapping her hands together excitedly. “That’s super cool, do we get our own rooms? I’d love to move out of the crappy apartment I’m living in.” 

Toni frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. “Pepper just gave you a whole building?” 

Becky tilted her head to the side. “Well, I mean we have to pay rent on it. But yes she did give it to us. And to answer your question Liv, yes all of you would have your own rooms. There are like two or three rooms on each floor so you should have more than enough space. The first three floors are common areas. A kitchen, a laundry room, a place to chill and relax, a weight and training gym.” Becky explained, before being interrupted by an over-enthusiastic Sarah.

“What?! That’s so cool!” Sarah said, rubbing her hands together. “Our apartment had a rusty old pool with questionable water, this is going to be awesome.” 

Becky gave her a look but otherwise ignored the fact that Sarah had cut her off. “I think there is also a lab for me to work out, I haven’t explored it all myself. I know the lab is connected to a sort of ops center so we can help each other on missions and strategize.” Becky explained, knowing that they’d all probably want to explore for themselves. She was excited to see what all the building had to offer. Pepper had given her a run down, but Becky was still being surprised by it all.” 

“Does it have an AI-system like Jarvis?” Ruby asked curiously. She wasn’t on board with moving in with the team yet, they were still strangers to her. But at least she wouldn’t have to worry about them barging into her apartment. 

Becky gave a shrug, wishing she could get off her feet already. “Yeah, I think it does.”

“I’ve always wanted an Alexa!” Liv said eager to get inside and explore her new home. 

“Before you all explore the new building, I am going to need to give you key cards to the place. I don’t want a security breach happening.” Becky said gesturing for them to follow her into the first-floor lobby of the building. She handed them their key cards before taking a deep breath. “There is one last thing. I know we weren’t as effective a team as we needed to be last time, so I invited an old friend of mine to kind of work with us in some one on one sessions. So we can see how a real hero operates...I assume you’ve all heard of Helios?”

Liv’s eyes lit up. “Helios is here? I have her trading card.” Liv said freaking out a little bit. “Am I being punked?” 

Toni looked a little more skeptical and wary. “You called Helios in?” She kept her tone even, but the fact that Becky hadn't consulted her about it stung. 

Becky nodded her head. “I thought we could use a reminder and it would be good for all of us to gain some perspective about certain things.” 

Sarah looked around. “So...where is she?”

Becky sighed. “She’s being dramatic like always.” As if to punctuate her words all five women winced as a blinding light suddenly blazed into existence outside the building. A moment later it resolved itself into the form of a woman wearing gleaming gold and silver armor which only served to add to the eye hurting display. Helios, for who else could it be, landed lightly on a balcony outside the room they were standing in before stepping through the doors.

“So, you’re Alcatraz’s team. It’s nice to meet you all,” Helios said with a grin.

Liv’s whole demeanor shifted and she almost immediately sped over to Helios. “Oh my god! It’s really you.” Liv let out a squeal and turned to her team. “Helios thinks it nice to meet us. Do you guys even know what she can do?” 

Becky tried to bite back a smile at Liv’s response. “Give her some room Liv. Sorry about Liv, she’s our newest team member.” 

Liv rapidly shook her head. “No that’s Ruby. Oh gosh um well my codename is Daddy.” Liv said holding out her hand to Bayley. “It’s so great to meet you.” 

In response, Bayley suddenly began circling Liv. She was moving so fast that she was nothing but a gleaming blur around the speedster. Out of the maelstrom, her voice spoke, “So, you’re fast.”

A wide smile split Liv’s face. “Yeah, I am fast. I’m not as fast as you yet, I’m still learning about my powers.” Liv explained, before letting out another squeal of excitement. “Will you sign my card?” 

As if in response to this question, Liv suddenly found herself being gently led by the elbow around the room. Helios winked at her before nodding her head over toward the others. Toni, Ruby, Becky, and Sarah were all standing completely still as though they had been petrified in place. 

“Can you understand me?” Helios asked.

Liv’s eyes widened in surprise but she nodded. “Yeah, I can understand. This is so cool.” Liv mumbled, barely resisting the urge to go draw on her friends’ faces with a marker.

Helios’ eyebrows went up. “Wow, you will be very fast someday. I can usually move most metahumans like this but they don’t perceive it the way we are now. To them, it’s just like teleporting, the fact that your brain can even process this is impressive. By the way, to the others, it won’t even look like we’ve moved.”

She took a moment to look around the room for a while. “I’d love to be able to talk to you like this but I get the sense that if I let go of your elbow you would go careening through the windows and out over the balcony. So let’s keep this conversation our secret for now and…” She steered Liv over to where several papers appeared to have been frozen in mid-air “...Let’s put everything back before we stop.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” Liv said, grabbing the papers and carefully stacking them back into the place where they belonged. Internally she was freaking out about the fact that she got to share a little secret with Helios. 

As fast as it had slowed down, the world suddenly sped up again for Liv. Helios was standing before her with a knowing grin on her face as she shook Liv’s hand. “Nice to meet you Liv, I’m Helios but you can call me Bayley.” As she finished she released Liv’s hand stepped past her but as she went she whispered something else. “Check your pocket.”

Liv blinked in surprise, having to take a second for everything to adjust. She definitely felt a burn in her calves, the majority of her hyper energy dissipating. She checked her pocket, her face lighting up once more. Her Helios card was now going to probably be her favorite card, aside from her one of Spades, but this one was signed at least. “Thanks, Bayley,” Liv called, sliding the card back into her pocket gratefully. 

Bayley moved past Liv and approached the dark-haired woman with tattoos. “Bayley, what’s your name?”

Ruby shifted uncomfortably, unsure of what to make of Bayley. “My name is Ruby.” She said, holding out a hand. “It’s cool to meet you, I’ve seen some of your stuff on the news.”

“Thank you. You must be new, Becky hasn’t mentioned you to me before.”

“Yeah, you could say that. The lot of them kept breaking into my apartment, I saved Viking and then it all went down from there.” Ruby explained glancing at her teammates. She had saved all of them at least once aside from Toni of course. 

Helios’ eyes glowed gold for several moments before she nodded. “She’s lucky to have you, I don’t know what your gift is but I can sense it’s powerful.”

Ruby blushed a little bit and shrugged sheepishly. “I can turn into animals. It’s not all that cool and I mean I have to have seen the animal before I can shift into it. It’s not as cool as Liv’s power or Toni’s.” She wasn’t quite sure what to do with the praise. 

Helios snorted. “Barton shot a bow and arrow, you’re well ahead of the curve.” With that, she moved onto the next woman in the room. 

“You’re Viking, right?” she asked.

Sarah stood up taller and nodded. “Yeah, I’m Viking,” Sarah said proudly. 

“Someday we’ll have to introduce you to Valkyrie, I feel like you two would get along,” Helios said with a smile.  
“Isn’t she the Queen of Asgard now?” Sarah was a huge fan of Thor, but there was a small piece of her that wished she could go to New Asgard and offer her services. She wasn’t sure if they’d accept a non-Asgardian but it was still a dream. “What’s she like?”

Helios thought for a moment. “She’s tough, but she cares.” She left it at that before she cocked her head to one side. “Would you mind indulging me on something?”

Sarah raised a brow and then nodded. “Sure, what do you need?” Sarah asked, curious as to what she could do for the other hero.

Helios motioned for Viking to follow her out onto the balcony. When they and the others assembled, Helios lifted off the ground to hover a foot or so off the ground. Looking at the other woman Helios said, “hit me.”

Sarah hesitated but only for the briefest of moments. Bayley had asked for it and Sarah wasn’t going to deny her the request. So balling her fist, Sarah swung at Helios, aiming for her stomach. 

Helios was hurled backward with surprising speed, only managing to stop herself when she had flown a full mile away. In a blink she was back, landing in front of Viking with a wide grin on her face. Turning to Becky she said, “She’s much stronger than you said.”

Becky nodded in approval. “Sarah has a lot of promise. She’s been training a lot with Toni.” She said. 

Toni locked eyes with Becky, before glancing at Bayley. “Sarah is quite durable too. She can take a good punch and keep on going.” 

“I don’t doubt it,” Helios said as she turned to Toni. She stepped forward and wrapped the blonde in a hug. “Nice to see you again, Aussie.”

Toni had grown used to Becky keeping her at arm’s length, so having Bayley hug her seemed to throw her off, “Hey Bayley, it’s good to see you as well.” She said awkwardly patting at the older hero’s back. “It’s been a while.” 

“Too long, how are you holding up?” Bayley asked.

Storm Zero seemed to tense at the question, unsure of how to answer it. “Okay, I guess. I mean as well as I can be, our base got blown up.” Toni said, knowing good and well that she couldn’t give a real answer with Becky still in the room. Toni knew that Alcatraz trusted Helios in a way that made jealousy flare up inside. As much as she pushed it down, Toni was starting to resent her leader a little bit. 

“Come see me in Chicago any time, we’ll talk,” Bayley said quietly before she broke apart from Toni. This just left Becky who in the meantime had sat down due to fatigue. Bayley hurried over to her friend with eager anticipation as she knelt in front of her and took both of the Irishwoman’s hands. “Well, I’m glad you aren’t bald like Xavier at least.”

Becky gave a playful scowl. “I only have to use the chair half the time. I can stand up and with a cane, I can go for short distances. I think I’d hate if I was bald, it wouldn’t suit me.” Becky muttered before her face softened. 

It was hard for Alcatraz to have people see her like this, a broken former shell of herself. Sure she still used her powers, but they weren’t much use to her sitting in a chair. Her back and neck seemed to ache at the thought.

Bayley felt her heartbreak for her friend but she kept it from her face. She knew that showing pity would be the worst thing she could show right now. “Well, I’m here cranky pants. I gotta say I love the new place, I’ll have to go get you a plant as a housewarming gift.”

Alcatraz’s managed a small laugh. “You know I don’t have a green thumb, I’d probably kill it. I appreciate the thought though. It’s really good to see you, Bayley.”

Bayley beamed and stood. “So...what can I do to help?” 

Glancing over her shoulder at the other members of her team and then back to Bayley, Alcatraz gave a tiny shrug. “I was hoping maybe you could work with everybody a little bit like in some one on one sessions over the weekend. I really do think we could all benefit from a refresher on how heroes should operate.” Becky said nudging her friend. 

Truth be told, Becky was a little worried about the state of her team. Ruby was new, Liv was a wildcard, Sarah was still learning her own strength, and there was the weird tension with Toni. Not to mention Becky had her own things going on and she felt like some quality time with her friend who understood the struggles of being a city’s main hero would help her. Her friendship with Bayley had always been cemented in truth and Becky knew that Bayley would help her get her head on straight. 

Bayley considered her friend’s request for a while and what might underlay it. But she shrugged and simply asked, “Who is first?”

“I’ll go first.” Ruby offered, eager to get it out of the way. She figured if she volunteered it would save her from being picked. “What do we do?” She asked directing her question at Helios. 

Bayley was a bit of a loss. “I...I don't really know. I’ve never had to mentor a hero before. Uh, what do you like to do?”

Ruby hesitated for a second, shifting her weight before an idea hit her. “It’s better if I show you, follow me,” Ruby said gesturing for the hero to follow her lead. If there anything that Ruby excelled at, it was being near animals. She understood them better than she did people, and she figured she could show off a little bit at the animal sanctuary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all are looking forward to the next chapter, Becky called in the big guns so the next chapter should have some scenes of Helios helping the team find their way. 
> 
> Big thanks to AttackPlaytpus for this crossover chapter. He's a genius and is doing a great job with Helios in his story.


End file.
